Digital Leaders of Energy Forum 2026

Digital Leaders of Energy Forum 2026: AI, Resilience and Change in the Energy Sector

On September 24, we welcomed around 50 invited guests from Austria's energy sector to our Vienna office for the second Digital Leaders of Energy Forum. The focus: how AI is transforming the industry. With the challenges ahead touching nearly every part of the energy business, we deliberately put together a program offering a broad range of perspectives and ideas.

Four keynotes from industry practitioners set the stage:

• Johannes Geist, Wiener Netze: The Many Dimensions of Digital Sovereignty
• Rupert Schindler, Energie Steiermark: Democratizing AI While Keeping Risks in Check
• Christian Nemeth, Energie AG: Digitalization and Sales Cost Management in Energy Retail
• Eva Zepke, TenneT: Resilience: Holding Steady When Everything Changes

Between the keynotes, four topic tables offered room for more in-depth conversations:

• AI-based energy solutions (Hans-Peter Pichler, FiveSquare)
• Solution reverse engineering with agents (Sebastian Kornexl, Sysparency)
• Capability management & tech stack optimization (Andreas Viehhauser, Matthias Schmidtmayr)
• Requirements engineering & intent coding (Florian Schnitzhofer, Matthias Ettl)

Many thanks to Andreas Viehhauser and Matthias Ettl for hosting the afternoon, and to all speakers and guests for the lively and candid discussions! The ReqPOOL Executive Autumn Cocktail that followed rounded off the day on a festive note.