AUSTRIA. Gebr Heinemann Co-owners Claus and Gunnar Heinemann have been awarded the Legends Wings of Help award at the Living Legends of Aviation by Scalaria event.
The award recognises the pair’s global social commitment and the humanitarian work done by the retailer, including active support of the Wings of Help association.
Wings of Help President and Managing Director Frank Franke said: “Heinemann sees the success attained from close cooperation with the aviation industry as an obligation to give something back to society and, above all, to open up prospects for future generations. In this relation, we are particularly pleased – in addition to many other direct aid measures – with their commitment to the education of young people, for example by setting up computer classes in schools across needy regions.”
Claus Heinemann commented: “Special thanks are due above all to our employees, whose personal commitment is an essential component of our corporate culture.”
Speaking about those employees, Gunnar Heinemann added: “Their volunteer work ranges from helping refugees and mentoring programmes to fundraising campaigns and distributing food to people in need. Our employees are strongly committed at the local level. We are very proud of that. It is thus all the more important to us that the partnership with Wings of Help gives us all an international opportunity to help people in need spontaneously, across borders and without bureaucracy.”
The Living Legends of Aviation awards are presented to outstanding personalities in the aviation sector. Award winners in the past have included Richard Branson, Buzz Aldrin and Elon Musk. Its European offshoot, Living Legends of Scalaria, this year took place on 20 July at the Scalaria Event Resort in Austria and was presented by John Travolta.
As well as the Heinemanns, the ceremony recognised Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted the first solar-electric aircraft to navigate the globe and spoke at the Tax Free World Association’s Cannes event in 2018, and Charles Gordon-Lennox, the 11th Duke of Richmond whose Goodwood Estate Company includes the Goodwood Aerodrome and Flying School. Dassault Falcon Jet President and CEO Jean Rosanvallon and entrepreneur and aircraft manufacturer Iren Dornier were also honoured.
