SPAR Austria CEO, Dr Gerhard Drexel, was recently awarded the Golden Sugarloaf by leading trade and business paper Lebensmittelzeitung. The award honours an entrepreneurial or personal achievement that has a great impact on the overall development of the industry.

Gerhard Drexel has been shaping SPAR in Austria for almost two decades in his role as both CEO and shareholder. According to Dr Drexel, the key to SPAR’s success is the drive for constant renewal, stability, continuity and the lived culture of appreciation.

Dr Drexel has been a member of the SPAR Austria Board since 1990 and became Chairman of the Board in 2001. Since that time, he also holds the position of President of the Association of SPAR Austria retailers.

Under Dr Drexel’s leadership, the company has succeeded in continuously and successfully developing both its domestic and international business. For the ninth time in a row, SPAR in Austria was the growth leader in the country, through innovation and adaptability.

Dr Drexel’s driving force is his unbroken passion to shape and change things. His post-hierarchical and empathic leadership style is symbolised by the SPAR slogan: “Everything, except ordinary”. Dr Drexel believes in evolution and attractiveness through differentiation, with the constant process being reflected in SPAR stores throughout the country.

Dr Drexel’s father was one of the architects of the modern SPAR organisation in Austria, founded back in 1970. His parents had a great influence on his values, teaching him a down-to-earth attitude, philanthropy, fearlessness and the recommendation “not to take yourself too seriously”. Dr Drexel implemented these values in SPAR’s corporate guidelines three decades ago: “We respect every single employee and want him to succeed in his professional career.”

Source: Lebensmittelzeitung

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About SPAR Austria

The origins of SPAR in Austria date back to 1954, but the current SPAR AG was created in 1970 when the original founding families joined with other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG – a 100% privately owned Austrian company.

With licences granted by SPAR International, ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) has developed SPAR in Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Northern Italy.