25th Anniversary: A Conversation with Karl Grünberger

"The vision was to provide every resident in Austria with a card bearing an electronic signature."

To mark the 25th anniversary of A-Trust, we spoke with Kommerzialrat Karl Grünberger, who was appointed to the management board of the newly founded A-Trust in 2000 as then-director of Raiffeisen Zentralbank AG. From 2000 to 2002, he served as one of the company’s first managing directors and played a pivotal role in shaping A-Trust during its sensitive early phase.

Mr. Grünberger, you were A-Trust’s first managing director and accompanied the company through its early beginnings. What was the founding idea behind A-Trust?

Austria’s banking sector—comprising the Austrian National Bank, Raiffeisen Bank Austria, the savings banks, and the cooperative banks—recognized the potential of embedding an electronic signature directly onto the Austrian banking cards. The goal was to make banking more secure while simultaneously offering customers an electronic form of ID. This led to the idea of establishing a joint company involving all major banks, built on cutting-edge technological standards.

What was your personal vision for the company at the time?

The vision was to provide every person living in Austria with a card carrying an electronic signature, enabling secure interaction with public authorities, municipalities, and banks. The foundation for this was already in place: Austrian banks had issued nearly 5 million bank service cards that could be repurposed to serve as electronic identity cards for citizens.

What challenges did you face during your time as managing director?

One of the biggest challenges was to clearly demonstrate the tangible benefits of electronic signatures to our shareholders—the owners of A-Trust. At the same time, it wasn’t easy from a technical standpoint to find a suitable IT partner for implementation.

Our competitor at the time, Datakom, was already working with a provider who was tied up in another project and therefore not an option for us. We had to build an entirely new technical solution from scratch with an alternative IT partner.

What did you personally learn from your time as A-Trust’s managing director?

That’s a tough question. I recall a situation during a supervisory board meeting though, where some shareholder representatives tried to burden A-Trust with a financial liability—around 25 million Schillings. We firmly refused to accept that.

That moment taught me that the interests of shareholders don’t always align with the interests of the company itself. At one point, they even said they would have me removed as managing director. My response was clear: “You can’t just dismiss me. And if you want to, you’ll need a formal shareholder resolution.”

What is your fondest memory from that time?

One of my fondest memories is the great enthusiasm we felt among the team once we got started and found the right people to join us. That energy was a crucial factor in achieving our goals. Another highlight was working alongside my fellow managing director, Josef Ferstl, who approached business with both great understanding and a strong sense of empathy.

What are your wishes for A-Trust’s future?

I hope A-Trust continues to recognize and embrace the technological changes that inevitably come with time—and that it remains a trusted and reliable cornerstone of electronic certification in Austria.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Karl Grünberger for the interview, his time and his important contribution to the history of A-Trust!