Director of conventions at the German capital’s tourism board visitBerlin, Heike Mahmoud, is set to lead operations at the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg.
As the new CCH chief operating officer (COO), the 53 year-old MBA will join the executive board of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC).
Mahmoud has been in the global convention and event business for more than 25 years, since starting her career in 1993 with a professional conference organiser (PCO).
In 1998 she became head of sales and marketing at Europe’s biggest hotel and convention centre complex and, after joining visitBerlin as VP and conventions director in 2001, she developed the Berlin Convention Office (BCO).
Mahmoud takes over at HMC, now in the middle of a major renovation project and due to reopen in 2019, from Edgar Hirt, who retired at the end of 2017.
“In the convention business we think and plan in longer cycles,” says Bernd Aufderheide, HMC president and CEO. “That is why it was so important for us to fill this position in a timely manner. We count ourselves lucky to have recruited such an experienced convention expert as Heike Mahmoud. Both her expertise and the great appeal of the new CCH are sure to boost the popularity of Hamburg as a destination for conventions. I am very much looking forward to welcoming Heike Mahmoud to our team and working with her,” Aufderheide added.
