Female dual leadership at the Chamber of Crafts and Trades in Cottbus: Manja Bonin becomes Managing Director

Manja Bonin will be the first female dual leadership position at a Chamber of Skilled Crafts in Germany: she will become the new Managing Director of the Chamber of Skilled Crafts in Cottbus. Civil engineer Corina Reifenstein has been President since 2021.

This article is part of the special topic women in crafts

The general assembly of the Chamber of Crafts Cottbus has Manja Bonin unanimously to new General Manager The Chamber of Crafts in Brandenburg is now part of the first craft organization with female leadership in honorary and full-time positionsThe 46-year-old Cottbus native will succeed Knut Deutscher He led the chamber for 28 years.

Interview with Knut Deutscher The change, the new craft regulations, laws and regulations: Knut Deutscher not only experienced the era, but also actively shaped it. In an interview with Handwerksblatt editor-in-chief Stefan Buhren, he reflects on the period of reunification. Read the interview here

Manja Bonin has extensive experience in management consulting. She has worked for the Cottbus Chamber of Skilled Crafts since 2008, serving as Managing Director for the past five years. A mother of two, she is responsible for areas such as career guidance, matching apprenticeships, management consulting, and structural change.

"I come from a family of craftsmen"

Knut Deutscher headed the Cottbus Chamber of Crafts for 28 years and will retire at the turn of the year. Photo: © Marco Thierbach

"The elected representatives of the skilled trades have placed a great deal of trust in me. The legacy Mr. Deutscher leaves behind is immense. My heart also beats for the region. I come from a family of skilled tradesmen. From this, I learned what it means to be self-employed. What it means when someone pursues their profession with passion. And what it means to find solutions with one's own hands. That's what it's all about: finding solutions instead of describing problems," Bonin emphasized.

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Manja Bonin will represent the interests of around 9.400 craft businesses with a total of 47.000 employees and 1.800 trainees.

Corina Reifenstein, President of the Chamber of Crafts and Trades in Cottbus since 2021 and a building contractor from Spremberg, is committed to the successful development of the skilled trades in southern Brandenburg: "The challenges of the future can only be mastered as a team of volunteers and full-time employees. I have come to appreciate Manja Bonin as a strong personality. She is a reliable and constructive colleague."

Source: Chamber of Crafts Cottbus

Background: The 53 Chambers of Crafts in Germany are managed by honorary and full-time staff. The top positions are held by presidents and chief executives. Female chief executives currently lead the Rheinessen Chamber of Crafts with Anja Obermann, the HWK Reutlingen with Christiane Nowottny. and from January 2024 Manja Bonin in Cottbus. Currently (as of 1 December 2023) the honorary presidents of the Chamber of Crafts are Corina Reifenstein in Cottbus still Susanne Haus at the Chamber of Crafts Frankfurt / Main and Carola Zarth in Berlin. The automotive business economist is also on the executive board of the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts (ZDH) on the Chamber side. On the Association side, Master Hairdresser Manuela Härtelt-Dören irepresented on the ZDH Executive Board.

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