Former Messe Berlin CEO, Christian Göke has withdrawn from gfu, the consortium that organises and holds the rights to the annual IFA trade fair, ahead of his contract expiration in 2024.
The announcement follows the appointment of David Ruetz and Kai Mangelberger as the new heads of IFA 2022, replacing the previous leadership of Jens Heithecker and Dirk Koslowski.
According to international news sources, the resignation of Göke brings peace to a financial dispute concerning fees paid by Messe Berlin to gfu in order to organise IFA.
When IFA was cancelled due to Covid-19, it is alleged that Göke’s successor, Martin Ecknig did not want to pay the full fee amount agreed upon. Göke resigned as head of Messe Berlin at the end of 2020 and was subsequently involved with Clarion, which is affiliated with gfu.
News sources claim that it is now unclear if and how IFA will continue in Berlin from 2025.