Cathleen Kabashi.

MUNICH—Show organizer GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH has announced that Cathleen Kabashi will take over the management of opti with immediate effect and until further notice. In this role, Kabashi is responsible for the future and development of the trade show. Bettina Reiter, who previously held this role, is moving within GHM to the FAF trade fair, which is dedicated to facade and interior design. Kabashi has an extensive history in trade show management. She previously served as trade fair advisor and later director of iba, the world’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry, where she made a significant development in the internationalization of the show.

In 2021, she took the position of division manager of B2B trade fairs at GHM, which she will continue to hold in addition to managing opti.

Kabashi said, “I look forward to leading opti into a successful future in trusting cooperation with the associations and organizations of the optics industry and, of course, with the trade fair exhibitors. My special thanks go to Bettina Reiter, who successfully led opti for years and now has a desire for a change, which we are pleased to accept.

 
 
"I am particularly delighted that she is leaving opti in a strong starting position. The upheaval of the last three years has brought about a lot of change—which we will continue to shape in a positive way and with full commitment. The goal by 2024 is to further raise opti's profile as the go-to event for start-ups and established industry giants,” Kabashi said.

In order to implement Kabashi’s plans, the opti trade fair team will be further expanded. Kabashi plans to hand over the baton to a new leadership in the medium term, following the strategy of a strong opti in a strong market.

Klaus Plaschka, managing director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH said, “Bettina Reiter has achieved great things in her eight years with opti. She not only established it as a leading industry platform, but together with her team, she also maneuvered opti through the challenging pandemic period to its successful first event after the COVID restrictions in January 2023.

"We are happy to comply with her wish for change, because I am convinced that FAF (Farbe, Ausbau und Fassade), which takes place every three years, will benefit from Ms. Reiter's concentrated expertise from now on. I would like to expressly thank Bettina Reiter for her consistently excellent achievements for the optics industry,” Plaschka said.