Markus Kraetschmer

Mag. Markus Kraetschmer

Born on 10 December 1971, Vienna

The path so far

Academic High School

Matura, June 1989

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Completion of Business Administration, June 1995

Schoellerbank AG, Vienna

Junior Controller, 07/1995 - 10/1997

FK Austria Wien (Group)

Various functions, Manager from 1997
CEO of FAK AG from 2008
Managing Director of various subsidiaries (Ltd. for Food & Beverage, Merchandising, Real Estate, International Marketing), 11/1997 - 06/2021
Sporting successes of FK Austria Wien under MK's leadership (National):
3x Austrian Championship
5x Austrian Cup Winner
2x Super Cup Winner
3x Indoor Champion
Sporting successes of FK Austria Wien under MK's leadership (International):
1x UEFA Champions League Group Stage
1x UEFA Cup Quarter Finals
6x UEFA Cup/Europa League Group Stage

Mandates on Austrian FA (ÖFB) committees

Presidential Board, Board of Directors, Finance Commission, Supervisory Board of Austrian FA Business ltd.), 03/2006 - 06/2021

Mandates on Austrian LEAGUE (ÖFBL) committees

Vice President, Supervisory Board member, various working groups such as TV contract and licensing, 03/2006 - 06/2021

International Mandates

ECA - European Club Association, 02/2007 - 06/2021

CSR activities

Creation of a separate FK Austria Wien brand for the areas of environment (Environmental Award of the City of Vienna, stadium construction according to ÖGNI criteria)
Society commitment (SCORT Foundation, Special Violets)
Social commitment (Caritas, learning assistance, special therapies)
Development of the dual education model with the Ball Sports High School, Vienna (Soccer, American Football, Basketball, Volleyball)
Co-Development of the dual training model with the VIOLAFIT program (club internal at FK Austria Wien)
Development of the women's football department incl. Youth Academy (from 2015) at FK Austria Wien
CSR/ESG-Workshops and Consulting for Clubs (from 01/2022)

Development of the internationalisation strategy - FK Austria Wien Partnerships with:

Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
BVB Dortmund (D)
FC Bayern München (D) - IT department, SAP project

Digitalisation

Implementation of SAP project in all areas of the club (Sport & Admin) at FK Austria Wien, since 2018
Cashless Payment (Generali Arena, Vienna - 2018/First stadium in Austria)
Consulting of Start-Ups and APP-Developments in the field of Soccer, Fitness, Influencer etc.

Infrastructure

Planning and implementation of the new building of the club academy (06/2010) at FK Austria Wien
Successive modernisation of the stadium (new stand, floodlights, lawnheating) at FK Austria Wien
Initiator of the S.T.A.R. project (new stadium, training plant modernisation, academy extension) at FK Austria Wien

Technical Presentations

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA)/Boyd School of Law - Class "Professional Sports Law"
University of Salzburg/Course Sport Journalism - Class "Interviewtraining"
Austrian Soccer League´s Academy and Campus
Contrast Management Academy at international congresses
Technical articles and co-book author

Lecturer at the International Football Institute (IFI; in cooperation with HAM in Ismaning, GER)

Bachelor-Module "Organisation in Football"
Masters-Module "International Association Management"
Institute's Certificate Program Module "Strategic Management"

Consulting

AMERICAN FOOTBALL - ELF Project of the Vienna Vikings (starting in 09/2021; Structure Ltd. Company-Association; Investors; Sponsorships) - Champions of the ELF 2022 (in the first year of this new Franchise)
BASKETBALL - Vienna DC Timberwolves (Structure Ltd. Company-Association; Investors; Sponsorships)
SOCCER - M&A Projects; Special Financing Solutions; Clubs' Cooperations
VOLLEYBALL - Project "New Austrian Volleyball League-ÖVL" (Structuring League Association in cooperation with National Association; Development)
IFI-Consulting - Strategic Partnerships for Consulting of Clubs, Associations and Partners in Soccer in the Region A - CH - GER
START-UP Companies - Finding Partners and Investors, different fields like Energie, Food and Foreign Languages etc.

Personal Awards

Golden City Hall Man, Vienna (2014)
Grand Decoration of Honour, Burgenland (2018)
VICTOR Sports Manager of the Year (2018)

Languages

German (mother tongue)
English (native proficiency; spoken and written fluently)
French, Spanish (basic knowledge)

News

Our latest projects

02 / 2023

2023 has started with interesting lectures and panel discussions

When founding MK Consulting GmbH in the summer of 2021, Managing Director Markus Kraetschmer decided to pass on his know-how and experience from a quarter of a century in the sports business with lecturing activities and as a participant in panel discussions.

12 / 2022

SPORTSBUSINESS.AT – Speed Date Interview with Markus Kraetschmer

At the end of the first full business year of MK Consulting GmbH, our managing partner Markus Kraetschmer talks to Sportsbusiness.at editor-in-chief Michael FIALA about the main business areas of the company, the development of interesting projects in American Football, Volleyball, Basketball and Soccer, the expansion of his teaching activities at the International Football Institute (IFI, Munich-Ismaning and Vienna) and other universities, and why Consulting Activities in the various sports will continue to gain importance in the coming years.

11 / 2022

ESPORTIDO - Presentation of an exciting Innovation in the Field of Digitization in Sports and Entertainment

For the 10th time, the "Who's Who" of the industry met at the dbb forum on November 17th, 2022 for the annual knowledge transfer in Berlin. Top speakers and experts presented their learnings, best cases and discussed the most important trends in sports business and entertainment on three stages.

11 / 2022

Exciting new digital development from Austria for the soccer transfer market

What determines the sporting success of a soccer club? "Its financial resources", is usually the answer to that. Transfer fees and commissions for transfers in professional football have recently reached record levels and have once again speeded up the race for top results and trophies.

Please contact us via mail office@markuskraetschmer.at

or via Mobile Phone +43 676 88 676 1201

Testimonials

Voices of valued partners

In Markus Kraetschmer you can trust! Especially in stormy times. His talent in gathering people around one table and focusing on their commitment in the common cause of Austrian football is indeed a sign of excellence. Showing great skills in a balancing and communicative manner he gained influence early on. This way he had a good share in developing excellent and sustainable solutions in the improvement of the ÖFB (Austrian Football Association) and ÖFBL (Austrian Football Federal League). From our first meeting on I experienced his heartfelt commitment towards the intercultural dialogue.

Dr. Thomas Hollerer
General Secretary of the Austrian Football Federation – ÖFB

Markus is always geared towards broad agreement and real solutions. For over two decades he helped shaping the development of Austrian football effectively. Besides his multi facetted experience, the unagitated ability in analysing situations, and the prospect towards a general evolution have contributed greatly breaking new and innovative grounds for the Austrian Football Federal League. This way a solid base for the sustainable development and future success of Austrian football has been created.

Mag. Christian Ebenbauer
CEO of the Austrian Football League - ÖFBL

Markus Kraetschmer has been a friend for more than fifteen years. Over the years, I have come to appreciate him as an accomplished and innovative fullprofessional manager with handshake quality. The development of the long-standing partnership between BVB and Austria Wien was based primarily on his initiative. His person and above all his personality were guarantors for the success of this project. Markus is a professional who knows soccer inside out. He is always welcome in Dortmund and I would be delighted if our paths will cross again soon.

Carsten Cramer
Managing Director Borussia Dortmund ltd. & Co. KGaA

I have followed the career of Markus Kraetschmer with special interest over the years. His thorough support in the development of a successful club model in the First Vienna Ball Sports Highschool (Erstes Wiener Ballsportgymnasium) turned out to be an excellent cooperative endeavor from the start. Markus is a smart guy. He shows great and eloquent talent in talks, acts as an astute sparring partner and a very good listener alike. Never shy of clear words he does not only speak but act. I very much appreciate these attitudes in his character. Having Markus on board as a consulting partner is a great added value in order to position the Vienna Vikings in the new European League of Football.

Karl Wurm
President VIENNA VIKINGS - American Football Club

The foundation of the new Austrian Volleyball League (ÖVL) and the solution negotiated with the Austrian Volleyball Federation (ÖVV) from the 2022/23 season on is a milestone in the development for Austrian indoor volleyball. Markus Kraetschmer, with his many years of experience in the national and international club and association business, provided us with comprehensive advice and support in the conception, structuring and development strategy and successfully contributed to the fact that we always conducted the intensive negotiations with the ÖVV top management in a respectful manner and were able to conclude with a successful solution. We are happy that we can continue to count on Markus' expertise as innovators and driving force in terms of changes and further developments of indoor volleyball! We are sure that we will convince with our offer and the development steps of the league.

Peter Kirchmayer
President Austrian Volleyball League (ÖVL)

MK Consulting GmbH

Bechadeweg 1a

2371 Hinterbrühl

Telefon: +43 676 88 6761201

Mail: office@markuskraetschmer.at

Thank you!

Change for Strength

Mag. Markus Kraetschmer

The path so far

Academic High School

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Schoellerbank AG, Vienna

FK Austria Wien (Group)

Mandates on Austrian FA (ÖFB) committees

Mandates on Austrian LEAGUE (ÖFBL) committees

International Mandates

CSR activities

Development of the internationalisation strategy - FK Austria Wien Partnerships with:

Digitalisation

Infrastructure

Technical Presentations

Lecturer at the International Football Institute (IFI; in cooperation with HAM in Ismaning, GER)

Consulting

Personal Awards

Languages

News

Our latest projects

2023 has started with interesting lectures and panel discussions

SPORTSBUSINESS.AT – Speed Date Interview with Markus Kraetschmer

ESPORTIDO - Presentation of an exciting Innovation in the Field of Digitization in Sports and Entertainment

Exciting new digital development from Austria for the soccer transfer market

Testimonials

Voices of valued partners