As of 1 July 2025, Gunnar Ahrens will assume the role of Director, taking over responsibility for the VALVE WORLD EXPO. He succeeds Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, who is retiring after many years of successful service. Looking ahead, Ahrens will also oversee additional events in the technology segment.
The seasoned trade fair expert has been with the company since 2016 and brings extensive experience in the international exhibition business. After holding positions as Senior Project Manager for the world-leading trade fairs wire, Tube, GMTN, and VALVE WORLD EXPO, as well as an international assignment as Director Projects at Messe Düsseldorf’s subsidiary in New Delhi, Ahrens most recently played a key role in establishing the new sales structure in his position as Sales Development Specialist.
As of 1 September 2025, Daniel Feische will also transition to the portfolios Occupational Safety & Health and Glass Technologies as Director, which he will assume full responsibility for as of 1 December. He succeeds Lars Wismer.
Daniel Feische has been with Messe Düsseldorf since October 2017. He initially worked as Senior Project Manager in the area of partner and guest events. In December 2020, he took over as Head of New Product Development and Market Research within the Business Development division. In this role, he was responsible, among other things, for launching the Circular Valley Convention (CVC) and supported international M&A processes, including the acquisition of the U.S.-based event XPONENTIAL.
With his sound experience in business development, the conception of new event formats and international market analysis, Daniel Feische will drive the strategic development of the focus areas occupational safety and industrial process technologies.
With these appointments, Messe Düsseldorf is placing its trust in experienced leaders from within its own ranks to ensure the future viability of its international portfolios and to further tap into strategic growth markets.
The Messe Düsseldorf Group
Messe Düsseldorf is among the most successful trade show organizers worldwide. It hosts around 40 trade shows, including 20 leading international ones, at its 613,000-m² exhibition center in Düsseldorf, Germany. Across 18 halls, international market leaders and top decision-makers of various sectors get together every year in order to present and discover innovations, to exchange ideas and to network. Messe Düsseldorf’s sectors of expertise include: “Machinery, Plants and Equipment,” including metallurgy and foundry technology (inter alia drupa, K, interpack, glasstec, wire and Tube); “Retail, Trades and Services” (EuroShop, EuroCIS, ProWein); “Health and Medical Technology” (MEDICA, COMPAMED, REHACARE, A+A); “Lifestyle and Beauty” (BEAUTY, TOP HAIR); “Leisure” (boot, CARAVAN SALON); and “Mobility” (XPONENTIAL, Flotte!). Completing this lineup are numerous conventions, corporate events, conferences and meetings by subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress. Abroad, Messe Düsseldorf organizes more than 80 events. The corporate group’s global network encompasses 78 foreign representatives for 142 countries – including seven international subsidiaries.
