Isabel Petri da Silva appointed Director of IAA MOBILITY & International Automotive Shows

Isabel Petri da Silva will take over as Director of IAA MOBILITY & International Automotive Shows in February 2026. She succeeds Christine von Breitenbuch, who has taken on a new management role at Messe München.

IAA MOBILITY is one of Germany's most popular flagship events, hosted by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and organized in cooperation with Messe München. The respective project managers are primarily responsible for planning and successfully implementing the format. Petri da Silva is responsible for this task on behalf of Messe München. In her role, she reports to Christian Vorländer, Executive Director of the Mobility division.

Petri da Silva has been with Messe München since January 2025 and, as Head of Sales, Sponsoring, and Partnerships, is responsible for sales and partner business for the IAA MOBILITY mobility trade fair. In this role, she was responsible for the global sales strategy, among other things, and, together with her team, contributed significantly to the success of last year's event.

Before joining Messe München, Petri da Silva, who holds a degree in business administration, gained experience in sales and marketing in previous roles. She was Director of Business Development, Sales & Marketing at the software company Tobii UX Explore and Chief Commercial Officer at the consulting and IT company NFQ Asia. She was also Head of Sales at Startup Events GmbH, the organizers of Bits & Pretzels.

“Isabel Petri da Silva is a proven expert in sales, marketing, and establishing and maintaining partnerships. She brings exactly the skills and qualities that are important in this key role. We wish her every success and look forward to working with her,” said Stefan Rummel and Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, the two managing directors of Messe München, in a joint statement.

“IAA MOBILITY is a unique format with great international appeal. Together with my colleagues at Messe München and the VDA in Berlin, I would like to continue the successful development and further strengthen IAA MOBILITY as a central platform for the mobility of the future together with our partners,” explains Isabel Petri da Silva.

Isabel Petri da Silva succeeds Christine von Breitenbuch, who has taken on a new and responsible management role within the company at her own request. “We would like to thank Christine von Breitenbuch for her great commitment. With passion and professional expertise, she has significantly shaped and accompanied IAA MOBILITY from the initial concept idea to its successful premiere and now to its third edition here in Munich. We are delighted that she will now be making a strategically important contribution to our company in a different role,” said Rummel and Pfeiffer.

The next IAA MOBILITY will take place in Munich from September 7 to 12, 2027.