Vordenken, Verkosten, Verbinden: Das Programm für CONNECT by Symposium Essen + Trinken steht!

The communications graduate and trained event expert has been organizing events for over 20 years: from 2004 to 2023, she worked for the full-service agency Söllner Communications AG, where she most recently also served as Head of Events and Operations, and since September 2023 as Managing Director of c&p creative projects GmbH, with which she is successfully leading Söllner AG's core agency business into the future.

As a proven specialist for events of all sizes, she works for numerous national and international corporations to implement complex requirements with efficiency and creativity. In addition, she and her team can profitably contribute their expertise to the conception and implementation of a wide variety of communication projects.

After 20 years of making the symposium one of the most important meeting places for the food industry in a management role, she was recently able to take on even more creative responsibility: From May 2023 to May 2025, as Managing Director and from August 2024 also as a shareholder, she put all her heart, passion and commitment into the transformation and future direction of SET, which is set to remain one of the industry's most important dialog platforms for the next 30 years thanks to its innovative impetus. Since June 2025, as a pure shareholder with a strong focus on operational implementation in close cooperation with c&p creative projects GmbH, she has been committed to creating greater synergies and strategic collaborations as well as strengthening the industry community, which can only succeed in establishing a sustainable and successful future for the food retail sector by working together. From May 2023 to May 2025, she put all her heart, passion and commitment into the transformation and future direction of SET as Managing Director and, from August 2024, also as a shareholder, which will remain one of the most important dialog platforms in the industry for the next 30 years thanks to its innovative impetus. Since June 2025, as a pure shareholder with a strong focus on operational implementation in close cooperation with c&p creative projects GmbH, she has been committed to creating greater synergies and strategic collaborations as well as strengthening the industry community, which can only succeed in establishing a sustainable and successful future for the food retail sector by working together.

Natalie Gerits has more than three decades of experience in the consumer goods industry and has held key positions at renowned national and international companies during this time. After studying business administration in Cologne, she began her career with global companies such as Johnson & Johnson, H.J. Heinz, Dr. Oetker and the Bolton Group. Most recently, she was Managing Director of the Lambertz Group. Natalie Gerits has been a partner in NGF rocks - We rock your markets for over six years: together with her team, she has successfully managed national and international companies in the FMCG sector, driven the integration of innovative business concepts for up-and-coming FMCG manufacturers and successfully led medium-sized companies through transformative processes.

In addition to her professional commitment, Natalie Gerits provides important impetus in socially relevant topics: The promotion of young talent is particularly close to her heart. She is actively committed to developing and supporting the next generation of leaders - regardless of gender or background. A particular concern of hers is the empowerment of women in leadership positions, which she actively promotes through her initiatives and as co-founder of the SET WOMEN LEAD initiative. In her role as shareholder and Managing Director of Symposium Essen + Trinken GmbH, Natalie Gerits pursues the goal of shaping the meta-topic of nutrition on a dialog-oriented platform for trade and industry in a forward-looking way. Her focus is on sustainability, transparency, quality and responsibility.

The retail specialist is one of the most influential decision-makers in the retail sector and has decades of experience in key positions, including positions at EDEKA, REWE and KARSTADT Feinkost. He has been contributing his know-how to the board of Symposium Essen + Trinken for over ten years. With his many years of expertise within the industry, he has had a strong influence on the format of the SET. He also works as a consultant for the company he founded, Dautzenberg Consulting.

As a graduate in business administration, Matthias Zwingel worked as a division manager at real,- Holding GmbH before taking over the family business REWE Zwingel, which was awarded the “Goldene Sahnehaube” award four times thanks to its successful marketing measures for customer loyalty. Matthias Zwingel also received the Silver Badge of Honor and the Golden Badge of Honor from the Handelsverband Bayern e.V. (HBE) for his outstanding commitment. As Vice President, he has been responsible for the HBE and the BVLH Federal Association of the German Food Trade since 2013. He has managed his own food retail company, Zwingel Handels GmbH, with several stores for over 20 years.

Edmund Pillekamp started his career as a retail salesman. At the beginning of his career, he worked for Hertie Berlin and Munich, Schlecker Süd and Penny Süd + the establishment of Penny Market Italia. Since 1995, REWE Group has benefited from his expertise in various management roles. His position as Managing Director of REWE Markt GmbH Region Süd and Billa Austria from 2018 to 2020 is particularly noteworthy. He is also characterized by his extraordinary commitment: For example, he realized countless REWE Family family celebrations and fundraising projects on behalf of REWE Group. He remained loyal to REWE Group until the end of 2024, working for the company as a project manager in partial retirement from 2021. Edmund Pillekamp is using his retirement as a new beginning: since 2025, he has been contributing his profound and versatile expertise and passion for the food trade as Managing Director of Symposium Essen + Trinken GmbH.