After more than 20 years as head of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Juergen Boos is retiring after the fair takes place in October. He will be succeeded as president and CEO by Joachim Kaufmann, longstanding CEO of Carlsen Verlag, which is part of Bonnier Group.
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| Juergen Boos | |
The Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (the German book trade association), which owns the book fair, said Kaufmann "brings a strong publishing perspective, extensive market expertise and an outstanding international network to the further development of the fair."
Before joining Carlsen Verlag in 2006, Kaufmann worked in sales and marketing at Herder, Christophorus, Bertelsmann, and Ravensburger. He has been a member of the Börsenverein's publishers committee since 2012 and has represented German publishers internationally first at the International Publishers Association and currently at the Federation of European Publishers.
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| Joachim Kaufmann | |
Kaufmann said: "After 20 amazing years at Carlsen and the Bonnier Group, I am very much looking forward to starting an entirely new chapter in my professional life and continuing the extremely successful work of Juergen Boos. I can hardly wait to work with a great team to further develop the world's most important book fair. In its role as the leading international event for the global book industry, it must remain the central venue for both rights trading and personal exchanges for the entire book world, and constantly adapt to the needs of its customers. I also see excellent opportunities to develop it into the largest festival for booklovers and reading far beyond Frankfurt and to draw the public's attention to the wonderful world of books and stories during the fair week."
Boos said, "I am very pleased that Joachim Kaufmann has been chosen as my successor. I have known and valued Joachim for many years of working together for the international book industry and for freedom of expression. Few leaders in our world of books are as capable as he is of inspiring people with his ideas and convictions. He and the strong culture of collaboration within the Frankfurter Buchmesse team are an ideal match."