Hannes Kovac

Hannes Kovac chairs the Development Committee and has been a director since 2009.  As President and CEO for OPUS Corporation, Hannes has been influencing the real estate development market in Calgary since 1997.  He has earned his reputation as an industry leader overseeing the development of over 25 million square feet of real estate and turned OPUS into a recognized service provider for the development and construction needs of third parties. He was instrumental in landmark developments such as OPUS 8 downtown, the Golder Building, Interplex Business Park, Stampede Station, Stantec Centre and Britannia Crossing.

Hannes has a passion for growth and his success is bound only by his imagination; one need only spend a few minutes with him to understand how his passion and energy motivates everyone he meets.  He has vision, creativity and drive and exudes a positive never give up attitude.
His accomplishments include being awarded the Calgary Downtown Vitality Award as well as the 2008 Leader of Tomorrow Award.  He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is a board member for Northern Vision Development, Calgary Economic Development and the Calgary Film Centre.

Committed to giving back to the community, he participated in the Easter Seals Rappel Challenge, Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation Calgary Tower Rappel as well as supporting agencies such as the Inn from the Cold, Ride to Conquer Cancer; Safe Haven, The Minerva Foundation, The Alberta Cancer Foundation and Kids Cancer Care.  Championing a charity project with his former EO group (VECTRA), he helped construct a new school for street children in Guadalajara, Mexico. In addition, Hannes has a passion for sports and OPUS as a result is the main sponsor for Jason Pohl, one of Canada’s top professional Ironman athletes.

A native of Austria, he graduated with a Masters of Law from the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria, before going on to do post-graduate studies in International Law at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.