DLG names managing director for North America

DLG (German Agricultural Society) has appointed Ulrike Schmidt-Machinek as managing director of DLG North America, the group’s recently established subsidiary based in Elora, Ontario, Canada. Starting her role in February, Schmidt-Machinek will be responsible for managing DLG’s activities on the North American continent, including Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Ulrike Schmidt-Machinek

Schmidt-Machinek will be responsible for DLG North America, which started operation in November 2024. The organization will offer the region’s farmers access to technical solutions and best-practice knowledge, enabling informed investment decisions.

To this end, the DLG North America has announced the launch of a new trade show in 2025, American Dairy Expo, to take place November 5 to 6 in Vermont. The launch exhibition comes in addition to the annual Canadian Dairy Expo (CDX), which DLG acquired from Underhill Enterprise Inc in October 2024.

“Ulrike Schmidt-Machinek has accumulated a wealth of experience in the agribusiness worldwide, thanks to her many years of work as international sales director for the EuroTier and Agritechnica trade fairs,” said Jens Kremer, managing director of DLG Markets (formerly DLG International). “Her international network includes companies, leading experts and farmers as well as economic development agencies in North America. We are looking forward to benefiting from her extensive international trade fair know-how, which she will bring to this role,” 

In her role as managing director, Schmidt-Machinek will be supported by Jordon Underhill, former owner of UEI, and Brad Michnik, DLG representative North America, to develop DLG’s activities in North America.

Ulrike Schmidt-Machinek hails from Germany and joined the DLG more than 25 years ago, serving in various international roles in the exhibition department, latterly as head of international sales for the DLG trade fair portfolio, coordinating sales activities of DLG’s international subsidiaries. Prior to her current role, Schmidt-Machinek served as project manager for what has been called the world’s largest exhibition for agricultural machinery, Agritechnica, overseeing some 2,700 exhibitors and more than 400,000 visitors.

Schmidt-Machinek earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in international business studies with a focus on NAFTA, graduating from Bremen University of Applied Science and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Grenoble, France. She completed a graduate traineeship at Schott in Mainz, Germany, and subsequently acted as advisor at Schott’s internal marketing and strategy consultancy.

In her role, Schmidt-Machinek is expected to lead the transfer of DLG’s relevant exhibition and agricultural expertise to North America. The group said North American farmers will also benefit from the work of the DLG’s Competence Center Agriculture, which covers farm management knowledge and international market surveys as well as a network of 3,000 international experts.