The previous President of the German Trade Association (HDE), Josef Sanktjohanser, will not run again after 16 years in office. His successor could be Dr. Alexander von Preen, CEO of Intersport Deutschland eG. He was unanimously recommended to the Executive Committee by the HDE Board and the Assembly of Delegates.
57-year-old Alexander von Preen has been CEO of Intersport Deutschland eG since 2018. Before that, he worked for the international management consultancy Kienbaum Consultants International GmbH as managing director and equity partner for more than 20 years. “As an experienced leader, von Preen has shown that he can inspire people to change and win them over to his vision. Here stands Dr. Alexander von Preen for three topics in particular: sustainability, attractive inner cities and strengthening entrepreneurship in both digital and stationary retail,” says the HDE press release as an explanation.
On November 16, 2022, the HDE delegate assembly will vote on the proposal of the highest HDE committee. This assembly of merchants from the member companies from all over Germany and from all retail sectors and company sizes then makes the binding decision in a free and secret ballot as to who will head the trade association in future.