Lothar Böhm,
Mrs Böhm,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have not come here today just to congratulate Lothar Böhm on his 70th birthday; even more than that, I want to take this opportunity of acknowledging his creative and entrepreneurial achievements in a market that is not always easy.
As you may know, Hamburgs First Mayor is also the senator for the media, and as such Im especially interested to hear what is going on in the field of publishing houses and agencies, broadcasting stations and digital firms here in Hamburg.
These are exciting and strenuous times, because the introduction of digital technologies is turning whole markets upside-down.
To create the right overall conditions for this process of change is an important political and entrepreneurial task.
We are glad that Hamburg is still home to the most profitable companies in the creative economy.
But we are also aware that to ensure it stays that way is a major responsibility.
The chances that we shall succeed are good, and that is due not least to the very special structure of Hamburgs creative industry: besides the big, powerful groups some of which operate worldwide and besides the very young, agile start-ups, we have a considerable number of medium-sized companies that assert themselves very successfully in the market.
You might compare the situation with the mechanical engineering firms in South Germany: highly specialized enterprises produce such good quality, so reliably, that they not only assert themselves but reach the top of their particular tree and shape the international markets.
In many cases the founder and owner of the company is the decisive factor.
That applies to Lothar Böhm Associates too.
Established in Hamburg in 1972, it is the oldest branding agency in Europe, with strong international orientation.
The basis for that is Hamburgs strength in packaging design. When you go into a German supermarket, the design of every second pack you see there was created in Hamburg. Nowhere in Germany are there more packaging design agencies; some 14,000 people work in this industry.
But that is not an adequate basis nowadays. So the agency set about operating globally at an early stage, in order to be closer to customers worldwide.
The branches in London and Warsaw have been successful for a long time, and Lothar Böhm will be opening his office in New York next year.
Lothar Böhm Associates is the only agency from Germany that has achieved the step from design to branding and then from branding to strategy and innovation consultancy for international groups in the field of fast moving consumer goods. Lothar Bohm: that is very largely your doing!
And it is all the more remarkable in that your agency managed this expansion this metamorphosis, as you call it as an owner-managed enterprise. In an environment increasingly dominated by the big groups and networks, that is indeed an outstanding achievement.
Your success rests on creative finesse, precision in design and entrepreneurial courage.
I hope you will go on investing a lot of that in your company in the years to come, so that it can hold its own in an international market, with a strong anchor in Hamburg.
So besides congratulating you most warmly on your birthday and wishing you and your wife and friends an enjoyable evening, Im expressing the hope that there will be many more good years of Lothar Böhm Associates here in Hamburg, at the Gateway to the World.
Thank you!
Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.