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The German DIY and gardening industry is honouring Hans-Jürgen Herr, who was at the helm of Weber-Stephen in Germany and Europe for many years, with an industry award. Herr is the winner of this year's DIY Lifetime Award. The honorary prize is awarded by the German DIY trade association BHB and the publishing house Dähne Verlag, which publishes the German trade journal diy-Fachmagazin and the online service DIY International, among other things. The award ceremony will take place at the BHB congress in Bonn on 27 November 2024.
Hans-Jürgen Herr (62) is considered the person who turned barbecuing into a lifestyle topic and established it as an integral part of the lifestyle of many consumers. In 2004, he became Vice President Germany/Central Europe of the US barbecue manufacturer Weber-Stephen – at that time a largely unknown brand in Europe.
Hans-Jürgen Herr has thoroughly changed that. The establishment of Weber as the leading and most influential premium brand in the market is seen in the industry as Herr's great achievement. Herr himself has defined the Barbecue Academy, which he invented, as a central success factor for the then new positioning of a barbecue brand in the lifestyle segment: under professional guidance, end consumers learn how to ‘conjure up’ all kinds of dishes on the grill. In the meantime, a whole ecosystem has grown around this core idea, including brand stores and a “Barbecue Bible”.
With this concept, Herr not only gave the entire German and European barbecue market a new direction and opened up new growth areas for it overall; it was also adopted by Weber worldwide. Herr had initiated a growth phase that was to last 15 years. The barbecue manufacturer became the market leader in all European countries.
It is no wonder, then, that Hans-Jürgen Herr was the only non-American on the global group's board of directors, to which he belonged as President EMEA from 2011. He retired in September 2023, highly respected within the company. He built up a family-like organisation here and is particularly proud of the team's sense of identity and solidarity.
