German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to NürnbergMesse CEO Prof. Dr Roland Fleck (pictured, left).
The Order insignia were officially presented by Bavaria’s State minister of the interior, Joachim Herrmann.
Fleck was honoured for his work on behalf of the city and metropolitan region of Nuremberg – since 1996 as professional city councillor for economic Affairs, urban development, housing and transportation at City Hall and, since 2011, as CEO of the NürnbergMesse Group.
The award was also given in recognition of professor Fleck’s many years of volunteer work on behalf of cultural, political, and social causes, including as president of the association ‘Friends of the Nuremberg State Opera’ and as treasurer of the ‘Nuremberg Nurses Association of the Bavarian Red Cross’.
This is the second official state award given to professor Fleck after the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy and Honorary Knighthood presented by Italy’s State President Sergio Mattarella in 2019.
Professor Fleck will also retire as joint CEO of NürnbergMesse GmbH when his current contract expires on 31 July 2023. Aged 61, he said he has chosen to leave for personal reasons. “After careful consideration, I have decided to retire as from 1 August. I have notified the shareholders of NürnbergMesse,” he said.
Among the factors influencing the CEO’s decision to resign from his 12-year tenure at the head of the Franconian exhibitions company were his life-threatening illness in 2018/2019 and its implications. Effective with Fleck’s retirement, his fellow CEO Peter Ottmann will head the business of NürnbergMesse GmbH by himself, in co-operation with a strong second management level.
