Industry knowledge and digital know-how expert
With Susann Seidemann, GHM will have an experienced trade fair and digital expert. She possesses over 10 years of experience in sales, market analysis, virtual events and B2B and B2C project coordination. As Head of Media Sales at a well-known media agency, she contributed significantly to the success of various projects in the trade fair industry, including electronica and iba. Susann Seidemann has a clear perspective of the challenges that lie ahead: "I am looking forward to the entire baking industry and especially to the trusted collaboration with the German Bakers' Confederation. It is my ambition to further develop the brand iba, which is strongly established on the market, to introduce new changes and to make virtual components even more digitally-tangible in the future. My particular focus will continue to be on the live event: In 2023, we will finally offer the long-awaited reunion for the entire family of the global baking industry with an iba in Munich. We will provide the market an iba that sets new standards for the baking world, with the clear goal of being an international business platform for experts - because there is no substitute for personal face-to-face interaction.”
Economic engine and platform for the future: Focus on synergies
With the handover of the baton, Cathleen Kabashi is devoting herself to new tasks as Director Business Unit B2B trade fairs, following an internal reorganisation at GHM. As Exhibition Manager and Head of iba since 2007, she has made a significant contribution to the development and internationalisation of the trade fair, which consistently shows itself to be an economic driver for the industry. Most recently, she successfully implemented the virtual knowledge and networking event iba.Connecting Experts in March 2021, thus setting a milestone in the baking industry in collaboration with her team. Cathleen Kabashi on her role as Director Business Unit B2B trade fairs: "I am looking forward to new challenges and would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire industry once again for the cordiality and the valuable business relationships. The iba universe will remain part of my work in the future. My goal is, among other things, to further develop iba in line with the market and to create synergies in order to offer a central and professional future platform for the global exchange of experts and a stage for product premieres and innovations."
Michael Wippler, President of the German Bakers' Confederation says: "First of all, we would like to thank Cathleen Kabashi for her strategic foresight and commitment to iba over the past few years. With her, we have managed to travel from Düsseldorf to Munich and around the globe to develop and establish iba as a world trade fair. Keeping an eye on what is to come: the needs of the market. At the same time, we are looking forward to working with Susann Seidemann and congratulate her on becoming the new Head of iba. With her expertise, she will lead iba into a successful future."
About iba
iba - The world's leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry takes place every three years at Fairground Munich. The trade fair brings together all the products and technologies that are relevant to bakers and confectioners of all sizes, decision-makers from the bakery and confectionery industries and food retailers. The range of topics includes from raw materials, ingredients and frozen bakery products through production and packaging technology, process optimization and information technology to complete interior design of bakeries, pastry shops or cafés. More than 77,000 trade visitors from around 170 countries came to iba 2018. In total, over 1,300 companies exhibited.
