Katharina C. Hamma appointed Koelnmesse COO

Completes a three-person leadership structure

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 8/3/2011 9:19:00 AM

Katharina C. Hamma

COLOGNE, Germany — Koelnmesse named Katharina C. Hamma to the newly created position of chief operating officer. She will start Oct. 1.

Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse said he is looking forward to working with his new colleague. "We have found a team player who has the sure instinct that is required by this complex business, in which a focus on customers and contact with people are still key factors," he said.

Hamma will complete the three-person Koelnmesse leadership team, which includes CEO Böse, who is responsible for strategy, corporate development, and international business operations, and CFO Herbert Marner, who is in charge of technical and financial affairs. By taking this step, Koelnmesse is completing a comprehensive reorganization of the company's top management team, which formerly consisted of five people. The creation of the COO position consolidates the operational responsibility for all of the company's trade fairs and puts it into the hands of a single individual.

At its meeting last month, the Koelnmesse Supervisory Board selected Hamma, who was previously an authorized officer of the Messe München trade fair company. The official appointment was made by shareholders at a July 21 meeting.

"We were fortunate to be able to hire Ms. Hamma, who is an absolute expert and has many years of experience in the trade fair business in Germany and at the international level," Cologne Mayor Jürgen Roters said. "In our opinion, that was the main qualification for the job. She is the right person to keep the trade fairs that are so important for Cologne on course for growth."

After studying business management and clothing technology and receiving a degree in engineering, Hamma began working at Messe München in 1997. There she has headed the business unit responsible for investment goods trade fairs since 2005. This category includes important trade fairs such as bauma, EXPO REAL, IFAT Entsorga and transport logistic. In 2008 she also became an authorized officer of Messe München. She said she is looking forward to working in Cologne.

"Koelnmesse is obviously oriented toward growth," Hamma said. "I'm looking forward to this new challenge and to coming into contact with new and dynamic business sectors."