Florian Hess, Jens Pflüger and Christian Ulrich started yesterday, in what Spielwarenmesse is calling a ‘seamless’ transition.
L-R: Florian Hess, Christian Ulrich and Jens Pflüger
Following the departure of executive board members Ernst Kick (CEO) and Dr. Hans-Juergen Richter on 30th June, Florian Hess, Jens Pflüger and Christian Ulrich have taken over the helm of Spielwarenmesse eG.
All three executive board members have accrued many years’ experience at the company, having been involved in important decision-making processes along the way. Looking to the future, they intend to continue building and expanding the events organised by Spielwarenmesse eG, especially the world-leading Spielwarenmesse. They also plan to explore new avenues as they rise to current challenges and equip the company for the future demands placed on organisers and service providers in the exhibition business.
In his role as executive board member Fair Management, Florian oversees trade fair organisation and marketing. He also looks after the network of representatives, the World of Toys international trade fair programme and legal matters. Florian joined Spielwarenmesse eG in 2016 as director Fair Management, in charge of exhibitor activities across all trade-fair projects and their further development. After graduating in business administration, he gained extensive experience overseeing various strategy and change management projects abroad. He also organised a leading international exhibition for capital goods and was managing director of Hess Consulting GmbH, a service provider for trade fairs such as the Spielwarenmesse.
The remit of Finance, Human Resources & IT falls to Jens, who also looks after the members of the cooperative, digitalisation and contract management. The IT and business management graduate began his career as head of IT and organisation with Göhler Tank- und Industrieanlangen. He joined the Spielwarenmesse in 2000, making him the longest serving team member at the headquarters in Nuremberg. In his role as director IT & Finance, he was already in charge of managing and developing the areas of finance, accounting, control management and IT. Jens is also CEO of SeG Beteiligungs GmbH.
Christian is appointed executive board member Marketing & PR as well as board spokesperson. He is responsible for marketing and corporate communication as well as press and public relations. He also oversees the development of new business opportunities. A graduate in business administration, Christian launched his career as a consultant for the agency group Serviceplan. This was followed by a period with Fischer Group, initially as advertising manager and finally as head of international marketing. He joined Spielwarenmesse eG in 2007 as director of marketing and was in charge of brand leadership, global marketing for all trade fairs and events, and the creation of the special shows. In addition, Christian is managing director of the agency “Die roten Reiter”, a subsidiary of Spielwarenmesse eG.
Even though the pandemic has thrown up a whole host of new challenges, all three members of the executive board see the company’s potential as an important business hub connecting global industry networks. “We have made excellent progress in developing innovative concepts that embrace the accelerated introduction of digitalisation whilst at the same time focusing on the unique and indispensable experience of a physical trade fair,” states Christian Ulrich. “We will continue to build on the more than 70 years of success enjoyed by Spielwarenmesse eG and to live up to the future requirements and expectations of all trade-fair participants.”
