Following studies for PhD degrees from University Innsbruck Austria and Flinders South Australia, Michael Staudinger joined ZAMG in 1983, and worked at the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in weather forecasting, environmental meteorology and meteorology for crisis management. He was assigned responsibilities of the Regional ZAMG office for Salzburg and Upper Austria from 1997 to 2010. In that time he was responsible for the high altitude research Observatory Sonnblick and the Salzburg Avalanche Warning Centre. Since 2006 he is responsible for the European multi hazard weather warning Programme METEOALARM in the framework of EUMETNET. Since 2010 CEO of ZAMG, the Austrian National Meteorological and Geophysical Service. Since 2013 President of ECOMET, an Economic Interest Group of European Meteorological Services providing data on a common platform. ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Focal Point for Austria since 2017. President of the Regional Association VI of the World Meteorological Organisation since 2018.