Stephanie Wagner Takes Over as Head of the Ligna Division

On August 1, 2026, Stephanie Wagner took over as head of the newly created Ligna division within Deutsche Messe AG’s equally new “Trade and Consumer Fairs” business unit. As Global Director of Ligna, she reports to Hendrik Rawe (36), who has headed the business unit—comprising a total of four departments and two staff functions—as Senior Vice President since July 1, 2026. After holding positions at Deloitte & Touche in Düsseldorf, Gehrke Econ in Hanover, and Sartorius AG in Göttingen, Wagner began her trade show career in 2006 as a program manager for Biotechnica. In 2011, she moved to Ligna—also as a program manager—and in 2021 took over project management of the world’s leading international trade fair for the woodworking and wood processing industry, as well as technical leadership of the Ligna team. In her new role as department head, she expands her existing responsibilities for Ligna to include the disciplinary leadership of the team.

Independent Department for Ligna

The establishment of this independent department once again clearly highlights Ligna’s role within Deutsche Messe’s entire trade show portfolio. “The independent department structure reflects Ligna’s significance and international orientation while also establishing clear responsibilities for its continued strategic and operational development. Stephanie Wagner is the ideal choice to lead this department. Her many years of in-depth knowledge of Ligna, her very close ties to the industry and thus to customers, her strategic and operational expertise, and her intuition for what Ligna needs for the future make her the perfect choice for this role,” says Hendrik Rawe, Senior Vice President at Deutsche Messe. The next Ligna will take place from May 10 to 14, 2027, at the Hannover Exhibition Center.