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Koelnmesse Taps Hamma for COO Slot

Will lead operations for world's fifth largest trade show venue, site of the International Hardware Fair in 2012.

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Katharina C. Hamma will be the new Chief Operating Officer at Koelnmesse. At its meeting on July 18, 2011, the Koelnmesse Supervisory Board selected Ms. Hamma, who was previously an authorized officer of the Messe Munich trade fair company, for this position. The official appointment will be made by the shareholders at an announcement meeting on July 21, 2011.

Katharina C. Hamma will occupy the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the three-person top management team. Her first working day in Cologne will be October 1, 2011.

"We were fortunate to be able to hire Ms. Hamma, who is an absolute expert and has
many years of experience in the trade fair business in Germany and at the international level. In our opinion, that was the main qualification for the job. She is the right person to keep the trade fairs that are so important for Cologne on course for growth," said Cologne Mayor Jürgen Roters.

"We have found a team player who has the sure instinct that is required by this complex business, in which a focus on customers and contact with people are still key factors," added Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse said.

After studying business management and clothing technology and receiving a degree
in engineering, Ms. Hamma began working at Messe Munich in 1997. There she has
headed the business unit responsible for investment goods trade fairs since 2005. This
category includes important trade fairs such as Bauma, EXPO REAL, IFAT Entsorga, and
transport logistic. In 2008 she also became an authorized officer of Messe Munich.

She is looking forward to working in Cologne. "Koelnmesse is obviously oriented
toward growth," she says. "I'm looking forward to this new challenge and to coming
into contact with new and dynamic business sectors."

Katharina C. Hamma will complete the three-person leadership team of Koelnmesse,
whose other members are CEO Gerald Böse, who is responsible for strategy, corporate
development, and international business operations, and Herbert Marner (CFO), who is
in charge of technical and financial affairs. By taking this step, Koelnmesse is
completing a comprehensive reorganization of the company's top management team,
which formerly consisted of five people. The creation of the COO position
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consolidates the operational responsibility for all of the company's trade fairs and puts
it into the hands of a single individual.