Global CFO Excellence Awards 2020

Acquisition International - Global CFO Excellence Awards 2020 7 Mar20334 Finance Leader of the Year 2020 (Europe): Peter Grausgruber Based in Vienna, Austria, Bitpanda GmbH is a leading fintech organisation established to provide a leading platform for digital assets. Following on from his success in the Global CFO Excellence Awards 2020, we got in touch with Peter Grausgruber to find out more. ounded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek and Christian Trimmer, Bitpanda GmbH set out to accelerate the transition to a tokenized world and tear down the barriers to personal finance and bring traditional financial products into the 21st century. To begin with, Peter gives us a brief overview of Bitpanda GmbH and offers more insight into the firm’s client base. “As a firm believer in the innovative power of cryptocurrencies, digitalised assets and blockchain technologies, we have grown into a popular investment platform for newbies and experts alike, with over 1.2 million users and over 180 staff. With state-of-the-art security and a streamlined user experience users can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold and over 30 other digital assets.” In a scale-up environment, where metrics for success are not set in stone and always changing, the importance of human interaction as well as team spirit remains a constant on each level as Peter goes on to explain. “Empowering 160 plus employees from 34 nations to work together, with a mission to transform the financial industry, the clear goal remains to inspire people and that is the key to creating a successful environment while encouraging growth and development.” Prior to joining Bitpanda GmbH, Peter worked at the Austrian oil and gas company OMV for six years, most recently being the Head of Strategy for the company’s upstream division. Having also previously worked for PwC Austria in the consulting department, he has become accomplished in dealing with strategy and finance related topics. Peter added, “The focus of my career has been to help companies grow and as CFO of Bitpanda, in addition to being responsible for financial matters, I have helped establish professional structures while assisting with the company’s ambitious expansion plans.” Among experience, technical skills and qualifications, Peter brings sincere, transparent, and respectful communication skills to his position while maintaining the ability to influence the company. However, without the efforts of the personnel around him, he insists he would not have been acknowledged by Acquisition International. “I appreciate the talent of the whole team and my capabilities should be judged on the strength of the people around me. By setting high standards, my colleagues follow suit.” Currently the financial services industry is in a period of intense transformation, however with years of experience under his belt, Peter is well equipped to deal with these changes and the impact of technology as he points out. “I have an exceptionally strong background, enabling me to speak to and convince relevant gatekeepers. Possessing deep relationships with stakeholders, I am “As a firm believer in the innovative power of cryptocurrencies, digitalised assets and blockchain technologies, we have grown into a popular investment platform for newbies and experts alike...” F able to build peer influence among networks and enrich Bitpanda’s C-suite not only when managing relationships with investors and key partners, but also when it comes to scaling growth strategy and expanding professional structures.” Bitpanda’s first Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) for its new ecosystem token BEST has successfully raised € 43.6 million, making it the top European IEO to date. The finance department was able to demonstrate with a business case showcasing the overall sensitivities of the financial benefit for the company. Besides the fact the coin can be used by tech customers for reduced fees applied in transactions, the overall usage of the coin calculated in several sensitivities, showed that the loss in fees can be surpassed by creating a favourable ecosystem with derived volume increases. Finally, Peter comments on the future of Bitpanda GmbH and the plans in place for 2020 and beyond. “Through enhanced leadership efforts, we have reached our milestones fairly quickly, being the most successful central European IEO to date. With a very engaged user-base of one million people, we are determined to maintain our outstanding reputation in the fintech industry. Moreover, in order to do this, we will be keeping an eye on the ambitious talent out there, as we look to strengthen our position as Europe’s leading platform for digital assets.” Company Name: Bitpanda GmbH Contact Name: Peter Grausgruber Address: Bitpanda GmbH, Campus 2, Jakov-Lind-Straße 2, A-1020 Vienna, Austria Web Address: www.bitpanda.com