Koelnmesse extends contract with COO Oliver Frese

"Over the past few years, Oliver Frese has not only guided the Cologne event portfolio through the difficult phase of the Covid pandemic, but has also introduced a new operating model in the market-focused areas of Sales, Services and Marketing Communications", says Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer at Koelnmesse. According to Böse, Frese has also worked together with the International division to successfully implement global portfolio responsibility in Trade Fair Management over recent years. "I'd like to thank Oliver Frese for his outstanding contributions and I am convinced that Koelnmesse will continue to grow with him by our side."

"Strengthening the trade fair business in Cologne is a key priority for Koelnmesse", says Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne and Chair of the Supervisory Board at Koelnmesse. "This is why I'm so pleased that Oliver Frese will be continuing to play a decisive role in shaping the future of the Koelnmesse Group in his role as Chief Operating Officer, and I look forward to our continued successful collaboration".

After holding management positions at companies such as Deutsche Telekom and the energy group EnBW and spending several years on the board of Deutsche Messe AG, Oliver Frese, who holds a social sciences degree, was appointed to the Management Board of Koelnmesse GmbH in 2020.

"The development and expansion of highly attractive trade fair formats and concepts for Cologne is something that's right at the top of my agenda for the coming years", says Frese. "My aim is for Koelnmesse events to remain unmissable dates in the diaries of the currently over 50,000 exhibiting companies, but to also make them the place to be for new exhibitors and partners."