State Secretary Andreas Rieckhof, Chairman of the HMC Supervisory Board, said: “By filling the position, we are preparing the ground for Hamburg Messe und Congress to drive its success in the national and international competitive environment. The company has a privileged location with outstanding traffic connections, and is highly experienced in organising global flagship fairs and innovative event formats. Apart from attracting and developing events, the responsibilities of the new Managing Director will include integrating HMC’s trade fair and congress business into Hamburg’s overall marketing concept. As an expert with comprehensive industry expertise, Mr. Stutzinger is well-qualified for these tasks, and we are very much looking forward to working with him.”
Heiko M. Stutzinger said: “I am excited to come on board Hamburg Messe und Congress in early 2024 and join the team to set the sails for the company’s future destinations. Hamburg is a fascinating and dynamic city with a personality of its own that provides an attractive setting for sustainable business growth. A number of formats focused on future-oriented topics, such as wind energy, hydrogen and online marketing/digitalisation, have been established successfully – a great starting point for further developing HMC’s portfolio.”
“Having found such an experienced colleague as Heiko Stutzinger to continue the successful work of HMC makes me personally very happy,” said Bernd Aufderheide, long-standing HMC President and CEO who will leave the company to retire at the end of 2023 after exactly 20 years.
Stutzinger studied Business Administration at EBS University for Business and Law at Oestrich-Winkel as well as in Argentina and at Berkeley/USA. Following positions in business consulting, he joined Messe Düsseldorf in 2008. In 2015 he was appointed Deputy General Manager at Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai, and in 2018 Stutzinger additionally accepted the responsibilities of Deputy Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf China, working from Hong Kong, before changing to Royal Jaarbeurs | VNU Group in 2019. At Royal Jaarbeurs Stutzinger initially worked at the Bangkok office as Managing Director of VNU Asia Pacific. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Member of the Executive Board of Royal Jaarbeurs BV in December 2021 and has since been working at the company headquarters in The Netherlands.
