- Two new key units – Services and Digital – are to be formed. Dr Martin Kassubek will head the new Corporate & Digital Development unit beginning 1 September. The search is still on for the right person to head the Services unit
- Thomas Preutenborbeck to succeed Richard Krowoza as head of the Own and Partner Events unit on 1 September
Important strategic choices at NürnbergMesse. To promote vigorous growth in the key areas of Service and Digital, the company will establish a new unit for each of them. Dr Martin Kassubek will head the new Corporate & Digital Development unit. NürnbergMesse is currently conducting a search for the right person to head the new Services unit. And Thomas Preutenborbeck will succeed Richard Krowoza, who retires at the end of this year. NürnbergMesse CEOs Dr Roland Fleck and Peter Ottmann highlighted the importance of these organisational and personnel decisions: “We’re very pleased that after an extensive search, we’ve found two excellent people to fill these key positions, and we’re still on the lookout for one more strong personality. We’re certain they’ll help keep NürnbergMesse as successful as ever, tomorrow and beyond.”
Both chief executives feel the reasons to set up the new Services and Corporate & Digital Development units are obvious. “The trade show business is facing major challenges. Both the digital transformation and generating added value beyond the classic square meter of space have become critical factors for an events company’s success. So we at NürnbergMesse will be facing up even more vigorously to this complex task, and to do that we’ll need the right organisational structures and capacity so we can take the important next steps successfully.”
According to Ottmann, creating digital business models will become a central function in the trade show business of the future: “The digital transformation will be a critical factor for companies’ success. Dr Martin Kassubek is bringing us all the necessary qualifications to make NürnbergMesse fit for these new challenges.” After completing a graduate degree in economics in 2007, Dr Kassubek (38) received his doctorate from Leibniz University in Hanover. Following a period at a strategic consultancy, since 2012 he has held a variety of positions at NürnbergMesse GmbH. Since 2017 he has been in charge of the company’s Strategy & Corporate Development department. Kassubek feels the challenges are quite clear. “Digitalisation will impact the entire company, so all our specialised units need to work together actively. And since ‘online’ and ‘on-site’ are not mutually exclusive, NürnbergMesse must also continue more and more to address the question of how we can integrate technologies globally into our successful services. After all, we’re certain that trade shows will remain the main component of our value chain for decades to come.”
Thomas Preutenborbeck (41) has been with NürnbergMesse since 1 September 1998, most recently as head of the Events department. At present he’s personally in charge of several events: IWA OutdoorClassics, U.T.SEC, EnforceTac, Evenord and kicker Convention. He also took over heading NürnbergMesse North America as CEO on 1 June 2017. Preutenborbeck studied business administration after completing a traineeship at NürnbergMesse GmbH. “I love being responsible for trade shows and helping develop them further, with a good focus and in close collaboration with our customers and partners,” he says. “I’ve felt a very close attachment to NürnbergMesse for many years, and am looking forward to helping the company develop further in my new capacity.” In the same connection, Dr Roland Fleck and Peter Ottmann warmly thanked Preutenborbeck’s predecessor, who will soon be celebrating 33 years at NürnbergMesse: “Richard Krowoza has played a significant role in making NürnbergMesse what it is today. It’s also his achievement that our core business – organising trade shows – has performed so well. He has always kept NürnbergMesse’s success in his thoughts, with dedication and passion – a commitment like that deserves the greatest respect.” With Thomas Preutenborbeck as the new head of Events, they said, NürnbergMesse would also be getting “a true ‘home-grown player’ from NürnbergMesse, in the best sense of the term. He has extensive expertise in organising leading international trade events, and he has an excellent knowledge of the company, our strategic partners, and our customers”, said Dr Fleck.
