Cathleen Kabashi takes over opti management
GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH announces that Cathleen Kabashi will take over the management of opti with immediate effect and until further notice. Kabashi will be responsible for the future and development of the international trade fair for optics and design. The previous director, Bettina Reiter, is moving within GHM to the FAF trade fair.
Cathleen Kabashi, an experienced trade fair expert, is taking over the management of opti. As a trade fair consultant and later head of iba, the leading world trade fair for bakery, confectionery and snacks, Kabashi has made a significant contribution to the further development and internationalization of this leading trade fair since 2007, which has consistently proven to be an economic driver for the baking industry. In 2021, Kabashi took over the position of Head of B2B Trade Fairs at GHM, which she will continue to hold in parallel. Kabashi has networked and exchanged ideas intensively with the optical industry, especially in the last year, and is therefore building on the good results and partnerships of opti 2023 with the proven team:
"I am looking forward to leading opti into a successful future in trusting cooperation with the associations and organizations of the optical industry and, of course, with the trade fair exhibitors. My special thanks go to Bettina Reiter, who has successfully managed opti for years and now has the desire for a change, which we are happy to fulfill. I am particularly pleased that she is leaving opti in a strong position. The upheaval of the last three years has brought a lot of change - which we will continue to shape in a positive way and with full commitment. The goal for 2024 is to further sharpen opti's profile as the go-to event for start-ups and established industry giants."
In order to implement this plan, the opti trade fair team will be further expanded in the future. Kabashi plans to hand over the baton to a new management team in the medium term, which will build on the strategy of a strong opti in a strong market.
Klaus Plaschka, Managing Director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH, adds: "Bettina Reiter has achieved great things in her eight years at opti. She not only established the trade fair as a leading industry platform. Together with her team, she also maneuvered opti through the challenging pandemic period until it was successfully held for the first time after the corona restrictions in January 2023. We are happy to comply with her wish for change, because I am sure that FAF - Farbe, Ausbau und Fassade, which takes place every three years, will benefit from Ms. Reiter's concentrated expertise as Head of Trade Fair from now on. I would like to expressly thank Bettina Reiter for her consistently strong performance for the optical industry!"
