A week of key leadership appointments

The past week saw several top appointments being made by leading tradeshow organisers.

German trade fair Hamburg Messe announced a new managing director to lead business growth and innovation.

RX Global hired a new strategy leader while EventScotland named a sporting executive to head its operations.

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Messe Hamburg appoints new managing director

Hamburg Messe and Congress GmbH (HMC) has named tradeshow veteran Heiko Stutzinger as its managing director. 

Heiko, who is currently the COO of Utrecht tradeshow organiser Royal Jaarbeurs will work together with Uwe Fischer, CFO at HMC.

Andreas Rieckhof, Chairman of the HMC Supervisory Board: “By filling the position of Managing Director, we are positioning Hamburg Messe und Congress to advance its positioning in national and international competition.

“The company has an attractive location, excellent connections and extensive experience with leading global trade fairs as well as innovative event formats.

“In addition to the acquisition and development of events, the integration of the trade fair and congress business into the overall marketing of the city will also be important.”

Heiko brings more than 25 years of experience to the table, having worked in different leadership roles at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai, VNU Europe and more.

He said: “I am very pleased to be coming on board Hamburg Messe und Congress at the beginning of 2024 to set sail together with the team and set course for the future direction of the company.

“Hamburg is a fascinating and dynamic city with character and offers an attractive environment for sustainable business development.

“Formats on future topics such as wind energy, hydrogen and online marketing/digitization are already taking place successfully at the location – a good starting point for successively expanding HMC’s portfolio.”

RX announces new strategy chief to drive business growth

RX Global has appointed Peter Lindsay as their new global chief strategy officer.

Peter will be responsible for the organiser’s profitable growth through myriad activities and strategic initiatives including mergers and acquisitions, market intelligence and advising on key business development objectives.

RX CEO Hugh Jones said: “This appointment marks a new chapter in RX’s story. We know that to grow and expand our offering to customers, we need a senior and recognised strategic leader to help design the future which is exactly what Peter delivers.

“He’s had tremendous success in driving operational excellence and business transformation for business and I couldn’t be more excited about the combination of customer-centricity and people-first leadership he will bring to RX in this role, across so many dynamic sectors and countries.”

Peter said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the terrific work that’s been done to grow and create momentum for RX.

“There’s never been a more exciting time to work in the exhibitions industry, and I look forward to partnering with teams at all levels to help our customers and our company find exciting new routes to growth.”

Prior to this, Peter led strategy for the Telegraph Media Group and also worked as a consultant for Bain & Company.

Senior sporting executive to join EventScotland as new head

VisitScotland Events Directorate has named a senior sporting executive to lead Scotland’s national event organisation.

Rebecca Edser, a key consultant with UK Sport, will join EventScotland as head in September.

She has more than 13 years of experience at UK Sport where she was engaged in bidding and supporting the staging of major events and handling strategic partnerships.

Prior to that, she worked at London 2012 and Scottish Rugby Union.

She has also worked earlier as an events manager with EventScotland for different sporting and cultural events like Piping Live! and Glasgow International.

Rebecca said: “It is an exciting time to re-join the organisation as we look to review and refresh Scotland’s National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage, and I very much look forward to establishing partnerships and relationships across Scotland, not only to deliver the new strategy but to ensure that this is a sector that continues to thrive.”

Her new responsibilities at EventScotland include leading strategy and partnerships to secure major sporting and cultural events – as well as positioning Scotland as an attractive destination for the events industry.

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