Kay Bommer back at the helm at DIRK

Former general manager steps in amid internal crisis at German IR association

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Kay Bommer, DIRK’s general manager from 2001 to 2010, has been called in to replace Christa Scholl who was released from her duties this month, according to the German magazine Going Public. This follows a string of bad press in the financial news that threatened to damage the German IR society’s reputation.

Speaking to IR Magazine, Bommer, who runs his own consulting firm, reveals he is covering the role on an interim basis and that the search is on to find a new general manager for the Hamburg-based organization, which may take ‘six, 12 or even 18 months’.

‘DIRK has and will continue to offer various formats for its members and stakeholders, such as twice a year internal meetings for members only, where you can exchange and network,’ Bommer explains. ‘We have a yearly conference in June, which is a two-day event including the German IR awards, dictated by a Thomson Extel survey.’

The German IR community has recently welcomed a new organization, the IR Club, created by former DIRK board member Patrick Kiss, who ‘stood behind a number of communications projects, including the newsletter and the original website’ during Bommer’s tenure. Although the newcomer organization may appear as the product of a dissident, Bommer insists DIRK and the IR Club are ‘rather complementary, not competitors’.

Indeed, while DIRK has traditionally offered more formal regional and educational events, the new IR Club positions itself as an online community, focused on social media and interactive events, such as its conference in Frankfurt on January 24, organized around panel-led discussions and workshops.