White lilies for Heidi Senger-Weiss
She was 27 years old when she took the reins, and she held them for a further 47 years in various functions. Heidi Senger-Weiss, born in Vienna in 1941 as the only child of Ferdinand and Gertrude Weiss, took over the leadership of the Gebrüder Weiss group, the oldest company in Austria, as CEO together with her future husband in 1968.
Before that, Senger-Weiss completed her studies in economics at the University of World Trade in Vienna and gained practical experience in the freight forwarding business in Basel, Rotterdam, Paris, and New York.
Her main focus was on expanding the Gebrüder Weiss network of locations, modernising its technology, expanding its services and internationalising its operations. It was on her initiative that the parcel delivery service APS Austria Paket System (subsequently DPD Austria) was established in 1988 together with two partners.
With her husband Paul, Heidi Senger-Weiss transformed Gebrüder Weiss into a modern logistics group. She also promoted social responsibility in the logistics segment from an early age.
As president of the Central Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics, and in various functions at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, she successfully championed the interests of the entire logistics industry.
In 2015, Heidi Senger-Weiss was inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame at the German ministry of transport in Berlin, making her the first woman to earn this accolade. She received numerous other awards for her life's work, most recently the grand decoration of honour for services to the republic of Austria in November 2022. (cd)