Ernst Balla was born in Linz in 1973 and studied economics at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. Ernst Balla lived out his joy in the development of and with people independently as a trainer for more than 10 years before he was responsible for the personnel development of all 27 provincial hospitals of the Lower Austrian Provincial Hospital Holding with 18,500 employees for two and a half years. In 2008, he returned to his hometown of Linz and joined Strategic HR Development in the Corporate HR department of voestalpine AG, where he was responsible for international and highly innovative – in some cases award-winning – management development for over 10 years. Since 2018, he has been leading a division-wide corporate culture initiative called “High Five!” and since 2021, he has been head of HR for the Metal Forming Division with 12,000 employees in 16 countries.

Many years of lecturing in the field of “Managing People and Organizations” connect Ernst Balla with the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences and the Johannes Kepler University Linz. Guest articles in books on change management and innovative top management development show that his interest in the subject extends far beyond professional involvement. For more than 10 years, he has been involved on a voluntary basis in the board of the Vinzenzverein, which operates two homes for the elderly in Linz. Musically, he is active in the SKA band “SkipIt!” from Linz.