Stephanie Wagner appointed Global Director LIGNA
Stephanie Wagner assumed leadership of the newly established LIGNA division within Deutsche Messe AG’s new “Trade and Consumer Fairs” business unit on August 1, 2026.
Hannover, Germany. Stephanie Wagner (54) assumed leadership of the newly established LIGNA division within Deutsche Messe AG’s new “Trade and Consumer Fairs” business unit on August 1, 2026. As Global Director LIGNA, she reports to Hendrik Rawe, 36, who has headed the business unit as Senior Vice President at Deutsche Messe since July 1, 2026. The business unit comprises four divisions and two staff functions.
After positions at Deloitte & Touche in Düsseldorf, Gehrke econ in Hannover, and Sartorius AG in Goettingen, Wagner began her career in the trade fair industry in 2006 as a project manager for BIOTECHNICA. In 2011, she joined LIGNA, also as a project manager, and in 2021 took over as Head of LIGNA for the world’s leading trade fair for the woodworking and wood processing industry, as well as professional leadership of the LIGNA team. In her new role as Global Director, she is expanding her previous responsibilities for LIGNA to include disciplinary management of the team.
The establishment of LIGNA as an independent division further underscores its importance within Deutsche Messe’s overall trade fair portfolio. “The independent divisional structure reflects LIGNA’s importance and international orientation while also establishing clear responsibilities for its continued strategic and operational development. Stephanie Wagner is the ideal person to lead this division. Her many years of in-depth knowledge of LIGNA, her close ties to the industry and, consequently, to its customers, her strategic and operational expertise, and her understanding of 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 Grounds.
About LIGNA
LIGNA is the world’s leading trade fair for the woodworking and wood processing industry and has been held every two years since 1975, in odd-numbered years, jointly organized by Deutsche Messe and the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Association at the exhibition grounds in Hanover. It showcases the complete range for both the primary and secondary industries: tools, machines and systems for custom and mass production, surface technology, wood-based panel production, sawmill technology, energy from wood, machine components and automation technology, as well as machinery and equipment for forestry technology.
For more information on LIGNA, visit www.ligna.de
