A look back at the beginnings

BIG deal: How the Benko system worked

Farewell after 13 years with Benko: Christoph Stadlhuber, previously head of Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG)

(Bild: APA/SIGNA/K18,HELMUT FOHRINGER, HANS KLAUS TECHT; linkedin, Krone KREATIV)

Christoph Stadlhuber, one of the most important Benko managers, recently left the Signa Group. He had come from the state-owned Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) in 2011. And had already lobbied for Benko's Signa at the political level before that.

Signa Holding CEO Christoph Stadlhuber, 56, used the LinkedIn job platform to look back on "the last 13 years as a real estate developer" in extravagant words, which he described as "probably the most exciting" of his professional career to date. "It was a great experience for me," noted the manager of Signa Holding, which slipped into bankruptcy under his management, "to form a young, motivated team and work together to create one of the most outstanding real estate portfolios in Central Europe." A lot has been achieved. "High-quality urban developments with first-class architecture were a truly unique selling point of our projects. Together, we also had a significant and positive impact on Vienna's cityscape."

Not a word about the abrupt collapse of a house of cards. Not a word about the disastrous developments and billion-dollar bankruptcies of recent months that have left a trail of blood through the industry. Stadlhuber sets off for new professional shores and sets up his own business as a real estate consultant. His unconventional farewell post on the social media network caused a lot of head-shaking, not least among Signa's creditor groups, from Switzerland to the north of Germany.

How Stadlhuber was brought on board
If you want to understand the Signa system under the leadership of René Benko, you should look back at the beginnings of the close collaboration between the Signa founder and his top manager. Even back then, one or two "unique selling points" could be identified. Like that of political proximity.