CLAIRE STEINBRÜCK TO TAKE OVER CORPORATE DIVISION “GLOBAL CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY” AT MESSE DÜSSELDORF

Messe Düsseldorf Sets the Course for Global Growth Initiative

  The worldwide expansion of Messe Düsseldorf continues to gain momentum. To intensify its international activities, the trade fair company has established the new corporate division “Global Corporate Development and Strategy”. Starting in 2025, this division will be led by Claire Steinbrück, who will join the management board of Messe Düsseldorf and report directly to the President & CEO, Wolfram N. Diener. With this step, Messe Düsseldorf is embedding the growing importance of this topic into its organizational structure, while expanding top management resources to drive its development further.

  Messe Düsseldorf is expanding its management board by appointing an experienced leader in the international trade fair business: Claire Steinbrück will join Messe Düsseldorf GmbH from Koelnmesse GmbH. From mid-2025, she will head the newly established division, “Global Corporate Development and Strategy,” designed to provide strategically significant contributions to Messe Düsseldorf's future international activities. Alongside Petra Cullmann, Steinbrück will be the second woman at the Executive Director level within the company. “With Claire Steinbrück, we are gaining a proven expert in the international trade fair sector. Her strategic expertise and global perspective will play a pivotal role in further advancing Messe Düsseldorf’s internationalization and strengthening our position in the competitive global markets,” said Wolfram N. Diener, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf.

Messe Düsseldorf Accelerates Internationalization Efforts
  In her new role, Steinbrück will expand Messe Düsseldorf’s global network, ensuring that structures and organization effectively support the company’s ongoing global business development. The goal is to adapt Messe Düsseldorf’s international product portfolio to meet customer needs while strengthening Düsseldorf as a leading global trade fair hub. In 2023, 78% of exhibitors in the capital of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia came from abroad, and over one-third (39%) of visitors were international. Steinbrück looks forward to her new role: “Messe Düsseldorf is one of the most successful trade fair companies in the world. To remain competitive internationally, we will strengthen its global network, explore new markets, and develop innovative formats. I am excited to help shape the future of Messe Düsseldorf actively.”

Extensive Experience in the Trade Fair Industry 
  Steinbrück has held leadership positions in the trade fair sector for over ten years. After working for Messe Frankfurt in Mexico and Argentina, she joined Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH in 2008. There, she served as a project manager for Innovation Management until December 2012. Subsequently, she was appointed Deputy Director of the German Pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015. In 2016, Steinbrück moved from Messe Frankfurt to Koelnmesse GmbH, where she held several positions until November 2024. Most recently, she served as Divisional Director for Trade Fair Management, responsible for the strategic and conceptual oversight of Koelnmesse’s global food technology trade fair portfolio. Moving forward, Steinbrück will leverage her extensive industry expertise to position Messe Düsseldorf optimally in international markets.

Strategic Vision for Growth 
  In recent years, Messe Düsseldorf has steadily advanced its growth and invested significantly in international business development. Key initiatives include 29 new international events since 2023, the integration of five Asian subsidiaries under the newly formed “Messe Düsseldorf for Asia” network (MDfA), and a 50% stake in the joint venture “Hannover Messe Ankiros Fuarcılık A.S.” in Ankara. This development is reflected in the establishment of the new division, “Global Corporate Development and Strategy”, which encompasses the departments “Corporate Business Development” (including “New Product Development”, “Market Research” and “Partner and Guest Events”), “Sales Development”, “International Business” and the newly planned “Corporate Development” unit. Wolfram N. Diener emphasized: “By consolidating these competencies under Claire Steinbrück's leadership, we are laying the groundwork to access international markets more effectively, respond more quickly to global trends, and achieve sustainable growth.”

The Messe Düsseldorf Group 
Messe Düsseldorf is among the most successful trade show organizers worldwide. It hosts around 40 trade shows, including 20 leading international ones, at its 613,000 square meters exhibition center in Düsseldorf, Germany. Across 18 halls, international market leaders and top decision-makers of various sectors get together every year in order to present and discover innovations, exchange ideas and network. Messe Düsseldorf’s sectors of expertise include: “Machinery, Plants and Equipment,” including metallurgy and foundry technology (drupa, K, interpack, glasstec, wire and Tube); “Retail, Trades and Services” (EuroShop, EuroCIS, ProWein); “Health and Medical Technology” (MEDICA, COMPAMED, REHACARE, A+A); “Lifestyle and Beauty” (BEAUTY, TOP HAIR); “Leisure” (boot, CARAVAN SALON); and “Mobility” (XPONENTIAL, Flotte!). Completing this lineup are numerous conventions, corporate events, conferences and meetings by subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress. Abroad, Messe Düsseldorf organizes more than 70 events. The corporate group’s global network encompasses 77 foreign representatives for 142 countries – including seven international subsidiaries.