Red Bull hires Pirker
Former Styria Media Group boss Horst Pirker has joined Red Bull.The energy drink giant said today (Thurs) that the businessman took over its affiliated company Red Bull Media House as of 1 March. Pirker surprisingly resigned as head of Styria Media Group an internationally operating publishing firm in September.Red Bull founder and chief Dietrich Mateschitz said, he was looking forward to cooperate with Pirker. Mateschitz praised Pirker as a “top class manager of international reputation”.Pirker, who was awarded Austrian Media Manager of the Year in 2010, described his new post as a “special challenge”. He said: “I will face my new responsibilities with the greatest respect.”Pirker will supervise the development of Red Bulls mobile phone services, print magazines including Red Bulletin and engagements in the TV industry like Red Bull TV, a series of lifestyle and sports programmes on company-owned TV channel ServusTV.Earlier this month, Mateschitz said, Red Bull TV features could soon be screened “on the Anglo-American market”. Speaking about the contents of ServusTV, the businessman said, he “tried to create a programme that doesnt offend my humanist education.”Red Bull sold around 4.2 billion units of its trademark energy drink last year.