World Beer & Drinks Forum, to be held Sept.10-11 in Munich, Germany

Modern Brewery Age,  August 15, 2005  

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The World Beer & Drinks Forum will be held in Munich next month. This is the fourth time the event has been held, and in past years it has hosted luminaries including August Busch III of Anheuser-Busch, Graham Mackay of SAB and Karel Vuursten of Heineken. This year, Mr. Mackay returns, along with August Busch IV of A-B, Nils Andersen, chairman of Carlsberg, Anthony Ruys, chairman of Heineken, and John Brock, CEO of InBev. These CEOs will be joined by a variety of other beverage executives on the speaking docket, along with eclectic guest speakers like famed mountaineer Reinhold Messner. The event takes place just prior to Drinktec Interbrau and the Octoberfest, pretty much an ideal time for any beer industry executive to be in Munich. In the interview that follows, we talk with Rudiger Ruoss, organizer of the 4th World Beer & Drinks Forum.

Rudiger, you started out as a journalist, did you not?

Yes. I studied marketing and communications in Hamburg and Munich and paid my way through my studies with my earnings as correspondent for a German women's magazine in London.

When did you first get involved in conference management?

In 1966 I started up my own business as marketing and communications consultant specializing in food and drink. New business tools were marketing conferences and study trips to North and South America as well as Japan and China with prospective customers.

When did WBDF begin? How has it grown over the years?

The 1st World Beer and Drinks Forum took place in 1997. A total of 2400 participants will have attended the the four events, an average of 600 per event.

What is the general philosophical intent of the World Beer and Drinks Forum?

My intention with the Forum was to bring representatives of the international beverage industry together and provide them with a discussion platform including supply companies such as Krones, KHS and the trade fair organizers in Munich. My primary objective is to create and promote networking among the participants.

Why should North American beer industry executives consider attending the WBDF?

The North American executives can benefit from attending the forum by making new contacts and exchanging ideas and experience on both a commercial and product basis. The vital North American and European brewers can continue to learn from each other.

In the past, what percentage of attendees have been from outside Europe?

On average, around 15% of participants are from outside Europe.

Have you included content in the WBDF to appeal to a broad international audience?

Inclusion of "Big Names" from the global brewing industry such as the CEO's and Presidents of the world's 5 largest brewers provides an incentive to attend this year's World Beer and Drinks Forum in Munich.

Will beer executives find non-beer aspects of the program useful?

Our non-beer topics are all from renowned leaders in their fields and support the general topic of the forum--Visionaries and their Visions.

Naturally, the beer executives are interested in such exclusive speakers as Reinhold Messner, a visionary for management topics and world-famous mountaineer, while the ideas of Dr. David Bosshart, CEO of the Gottlieb Duttweiler-Institute in Switzerland or Dr. Kjell A. Nordstr"m, a famous marketing professor from the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden who will speak about "Karaoke Capitalism: How to survive price wars and hyper competition where instant imitation is the norm," also provide enlightening lifestyle and business-linked input for any management executive.

Translation must be fairly complicated for a conference like this, how do you address this challenge?

Our speakers and translators are all professionals. When speakers and panel members do not speak at high speed, simultaneous translation is not a problem for our competent and experienced translators to follow the text and provide a rational and understandable representation from German into English or English into German.

As an observer of the world brewing industry, what are some of the most interesting trends you see at present?

Clearly, the rapidly developing concentration within the international brewing industry. In my opinion it is only a question of time before we receive a news item that some major breweries such as Anheuser Busch, Heineken, InBev or Carlsberg are entering co-operation agreements. In a way similar to that in the soft-drinks market, within the next ten to twenty years, I think two, maximum three, giant groups will have formed as alliances dominating the market. On the other hand, this will create opportunities for creative, viable and quick medium-sized breweries and their brands, similar to those which exist in the North American market.

For further information, check the web at www.ruoss.com or inquire via e-mail to: events@ruoss.com.

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