Who we are.

Where we come from.

15 years in journalism, from ORF to Kurier to trend and profil, stand for his comprehensive knowledge of the domestic media industry. As Head of Corporate Communications & Sponsoring at Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries, Martin Himmelbauer got to know the gambling scene inside out. After all, he spent five years in leading domestic agencies as a top-level consultant and managing partner, supporting companies and clients from a wide range of sectors: from listed industrial groups to traditional family businesses, from global players in the high-tech sector to top companies in the financial sector, from NGOs to chambers and associations. And that in good times with proactive positioning up to crisis communication with all its facets.

Roman Melchert has more than 30 years of experience in various management positions at Casinos Austria. He established and headed the Marketing Products department back in 2000. In the early 2000s, he was responsible for the worldwide marketing of the European Poker Championship and the establishment of six Austrian casinos as poker tournament destinations. From 2007 onwards, he was entrusted with the development and management of the CRM department. This included, among other things, the development of Austria-wide guest loyalty measures and the implementation of efficient marketing automation. In all these years, he was additionally in charge of various company-relevant as well as cross-group projects and working groups. Most recently, he was in charge of the digital transformation in the customer engagement.

As a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences "FH-Technikum" Vienna on the topic of CRM in the courses "Digital Management" and "Digital Marketing" as well as a presenter and keynote speaker at international casino and CRM conferences, he was able to share his knowledge and experience with a wider audience.

Roman Melchert successfully completed his studies in communication sciences and the master's course in executive management at the University of Vienna. Further training such as certification as a CRM project manager at Donau Universität Krems, market and opinion research at the Werbeakademie and training in design thinking rounded off his profile.

As head of business development at ALEA Trust, he can optimally combine his knowledge and experience with his innovative strength and creative drive to realize new ways of implementing sustainable gambling in Austria.

Mag. Berthold Baurek-Karlic holds a Management Science degree from Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), with professional investment experience of more than 15 years.

He is founder and managing partner of Venionaire Capital, an investment firm specialized in mergers and acquisitions, and private equity, established in 2012 and headquartered in Vienna, with offices London (U.K.), Munsbach (Luxemburg), New York (USA), and San Francisco (USA).

Mag. Baurek-Karlic is a highly experienced board member and chairman, with active roles in high tech firms like UM Autonomous Systems (U.K.), Homeppl (U.K.), Flovtec AG (CH), and Blockpit AG (AT). Furthermore he supports non-profit organizations like Business Angel Institute, the World Venture Forum, and European Super Angels Club.

His expertise is recognised by various universities, accelerators, incubators, venture funds, as well as EU projects like InvestCEC.

Michael Mrak is a Certified Compliance Officer and Certified Compliance Auditor as well as a Data Protection Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. He has worked in the gaming industry for three decades as data protection, information security and anti-money laundering officer and was head of the compliance department at Casinos Austria and Österreichische Lotterien since its inception, being responsible for the establishment and further development of the group-wide compliance management systems. Since 2022, Michael Mrak has been working as an independent consultant and is also a founding member of the board of the Association of Austrian Data Protection Officers. He lectures on data protection and new technologies at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland and is a regular lecturer at national and international events..

As a successful entrepreneur, he took the step into self-employment at a young age and successfully built up and managed two companies. With more than 10 years of experience in the e-commerce sector and an innovative idea for the LMS (Learn Management) sector, he founded Digiteach-Academy GmbH in 2021 together with his father, Paul Vogel. In cooperation with one of the largest European IT companies, a unique e-learning platform was founded in a period of more than two years. Through the joint development and the resulting experience, Mario Vogel has proven to be an absolute specialist in the LMS field.Learn Management) Ssector, he founded Digiteach-Academy GmbH in 2021 together with his father, Paul Vogel. In cooperation with one of the largest European IT companies, a unique e-learning platform was founded in a period of more than two years. Through the joint development and the resulting experience, Mario Vogel has proven to be an absolute specialist in the LMS field.

Accomplished professional with 45 years of experience in the gaming industry and casino marketing. During his career, he has served as Consultant, Independent Agent and Senior Vice President of International Marketing for the largest casino groups worldwide. Currently, he was able to accompany the successful launch of the latest mega-project in Las Vegas - Resorts World Genting - as Independent Vice President of International Marketing and Player Development from its conception.

Franz Kollinger maintains close relationships with some of the biggest gaming clients and, thanks to his extensive network, refers them to resorts and casinos worldwide.

Since 2008, he has been developing online marketing concepts and implementing them with his team. In digital consulting, he advises companies on the topics of websites, online marketing and tracking and explains the possibilities of modern tools to automate companies and workflows. With the data gained, targeted advertising campaigns can then be launched and valuable insights gained.

A flair for creative or innovative advertising solutions and over 25 years of experience in brand development make her a successful entrepreneur. Her full-service advertising agency [ERFINDERISCH] has been an integral part of the Viennese advertising landscape for 10 years and enjoys a reputation for being authoritative, stylish and inventive. Her path into the creative industry was anything but child's play - after completing a higher commercial education, it was clear that a departure for new creative shores would be her future. With an iron will to establish herself in the creative industry and additional training up her sleeve, she worked alongside various creative directors. Due to her expertise in brand identity and storytelling, she has already worked for renowned brands such as Harley Davidson, BAWAG Group, Daimler AG, Mercedes, Neusiedler See Tourismus, Riddle & Code and many more.

Mariana Stolz graduated in 2001 in Social Management from the BSU University of Humanitarian Sciences in Burgas, Bulgaria. She has over 20 years of experience as a certified social counselor, head of care teams and was a social manager in several social institutions in Carinthia and Vienna. During her working career she participated in numerous trainings and qualifications in the social field. These included: addiction prevention - solution orientation and preventive measures, crisis intervention, debts as a phenomenon, systemic team development and systemic descending, trauma and attachment-related work, case mentoring and systematic case work.  She is very familiar with social fields of work and challenges in the work process, especially in the field of addiction prevention, addiction and debt counseling. The focus of her activities is the family as a system and the person as a personality. As an essential part of her social activities are the counseling, the assistance, the support and the accompaniment in different social areas, both intercultural, financial, legal, health and psychosocial. Further fields of activity are networking and cooperation with the responsible system providers and system participants. Related further fields of activity are intensive socio-pedagogical family work, counseling and support in financial problems, debt counseling, addiction counseling and addiction prevention. She is also in great demand as a specialist for court hearings, crisis management meetings, cooperation with medical specialists and psychotherapeutic institutions, the responsible authorities. Everyday life development, regulations, implementation of documentation complete the portfolio of her area of responsibility.