Katharina C. Hamma
Katharina C. Hamma (45) has been named Chief Operating Officer at Koelnmesse, the producer of imm cologne (Cologne Furniture Fair) that will take place on January 16-22, 2012.
During its meeting on July 18, 2011, the Koelnmesse Supervisory Board selected Ms. Hamma, who was previously an authorized officer of the Messe München trade fair company, for this position. The official appointment will be made by the shareholders at a meeting to be held for this purpose on July 21, 2011. Katharina C. Hamma will occupy the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the three-person top management team. Her first working day in Cologne will be October 1, 2011.
"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. 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," was Cologne Mayor Jürgen Roters' comment regarding the Supervisory Board's decision. Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse 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.
After studying business management and clothing technology and receiving a degree in engineering, Ms. 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 is looking forward to working in Cologne. "Koelnmesse is obviously oriented toward growth," she says. "I'm looking forward to this new challenge and to coming into contact with new and dynamic business sectors."
Katharina C. Hamma will complete the three-person leadership team of Koelnmesse, whose other members are CEO Gerald Böse, who is responsible for strategy, corporate development, and international business operations, and Herbert Marner (CFO), 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.