New Managing Director Matthias Schultze offers an outlook on future topics and fields of action of the marketing organisation
Frankfurt / Main, 29 June 2010. A total of 120 representatives of the meeting, convention, incentive and event industry gathered for the annual general assembly of the GCB German Convention Bureau on 21 and 22 June 2010 at Kongresshotel Potsdam am Templiner See. As the Chairwoman of the GCB’s board of directors and CEO of the German National Tourist Board, Petra Hedorfer welcomed the attendees and offered some insight into the board’s decision on a new strategic alignment for the GCB. “The GCB has made huge achievements over the past few years: Germany is Europe’s number one meetings destination, its strategic partnership with IMEX is a major pillar of the trade fair’s success in Frankfurt, our members are very happy with our performance. So, the GCB is well-positioned but we want to achieve even more,” explains Hedorfer.
Matthias Schultze, the GCB’s new Managing Director, showed how important it is to be well-prepared for coming challenges in his presentation of future topics and fields of action of the marketing organisation. “To boost our competitiveness in future and maintain the GCB’s leading position, our realignment will concentrate on the four topics: organisational structure, finance, products and services, as well as lobbying. After taking stock and analysing the situation the gained insights are to flow into one concept integrating the GCB team, board of directors and members. We want to adopt this concept by late 2010,” Schultze looks ahead.
Ray Bloom, Chairman of the IMEX Group, talked about an already decided strategic alignment. The Strategic Partner of the GCB and organiser of IMEX – incorporating Meetings made in Germany, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events with a successful eight-year track record presented IMEX America in his contribution. In October 2009 the IMEX Group had founded IMEX America. By doing so, the UK team wanted to export its great success in Europe to the USA, and the huge positive feedback Bloom received from the industry had confirmed this step. The new fair will take place for the first time at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas from 11 to 13 October 2011.
New members of the GCB board of directors and marketing committee
The GCB members elected Dirk Führer as a new board member for the hotel chapter. 43-year-old Munich-born Führer, has been Hilton Worldwide’s Area Director of Sales, Central Europe since late 2002 and will now represent the interests of hotels in the GCB – with Alfred Diem, Sales Director Germany of MARITIM Hotelgesellschaft mbH and Daniela Schade, Senior Vice President Sales, Marketing & Distribution, Accor Hotellerie Deutschland GmbH.
The newly elected marketing committee member is Ronald Kötteritzsch, Director Marketing & Sales of Congress Center Leipzig. Kötteritzsch has been working for Congress Center Leipzig for 16 years and was actively involved in gaining the ICCA Congress and further projects for Germany, and will contribute his long and valuable experience as an active GCB member to the committee in future.
The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international level, and is the place to contact for all customers who are planning events in Germany.
Its 240 members include leading hotels, convention centres and destinations, car hire firms, event agencies and service providers of the German meetings and conventions industry. Maritim Hotels, Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH and darmstadtium science and convention centre are Preferred Partners of the GCB. As Strategic Partners, Deutsche Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn and the German National Tourist Board (DZT) support the work of the GCB.
The GCB is an interface between organisers of meetings and conventions and suppliers of the German meetings market, offers advice and support for planning and organising events, and provides contacts and addresses. Its website www.germany-meetings.com features an online search facility for meeting venues, newsletter, Germany guide, a CO2 calculator, and a lot more.
