28 March 2024, 18:30
By Furniture News Dec 08, 2022

German exhibition sets a new course

Koelnmesse, the organiser of imm cologne, says it plans to "reorient" the event, and has appointed the show's former creative director Dick Spierenburg, and Bernd Sanden, previously director of LivingKitchen and Pure Architects, to lead the 2023 edition.

The new tandem leadership team succeeds Claire Steinbrück, who oversaw imm cologne from 2018 and is now VP FoodTec at Koelnmesse.

The imm cologne team is currently preparing for a spring edition next June.

Dutch architect and designer Dick Spierenburg has served as imm cologne’s creative director since 2009. He will additionally assume conceptual and strategic responsibilities for the trade fair’s planned new direction. He says: “My mission is to bring new thinking to the trade fair world. That means that we want to play an active part in shaping the future. I’m a firm believer that the momentum that trade fairs will be able to unfold in the future is much greater than can be achieved with a mere showcase of product innovations."

Bernd Sanden has a 16-year track record at Koelnmesse. He joined the imm cologne team as sales manager, and was subsequently appointed director of LivingKitchen in 2017. He has also been involved in numerous international projects in Russia, China and the US.

His responsibilities will focus on leading a dialogue with businesses, key opinion leaders and associations. He says: “Breaking new ground is, in my view, a crucial point for imm cologne’s future credibility and relevance. Our goal is a new interpretation of the leading trade fair for the interiors industry in Germany, and the imm spring edition is the first step towards this future."

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