Holger Knaack selected to be 2020-21
RI president
Holger Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum
Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany, has been selected to serve as president
of Rotary International in 2020-21.
The Nominating Committee’s decision follows
the resignation last month of President-nominee Sushil Gupta due
to health reasons. Knaack will officially become president-nominee
if no other candidates challenge him by 31 May.
To build a stronger membership, Knaack says Rotary
must focus on increasing the number of female members and transitioning
Rotaractors into Rotarians.
Knaack believes that the People of Action campaign
offers new public awareness possibilities for Rotary. “This
campaign conveys our global image while still respecting differences
in regions and cultures,” he says.
A Rotary member since 1992, Knaack has served Rotary
as treasurer, director, moderator, member and chair of several committees,
representative for the Council on Legislation, zone coordinator,
training leader, and district governor.
He is an endowment/major gifts adviser and co-chair
of the Host Organization Committee for the 2019 Rotary International
Convention in Hamburg.
Knaack is the CEO of Knaack KG, a real estate company.
He was previously a partner and general manager of Knaack Enterprises,
a 125-year-old family business.
He is a founding member of the Civic Foundation of
the City of Ratzeburg and served as president of the Golf-Club Gut
Grambek. Knaack is also the founder and chair of the Karl Adam Foundation.
Knaack and his wife, Susanne, are Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation
and members of the Bequest Society.
The members of the Nominating Committee for the 2020-21
President of Rotary International are Kazuhiko Ozawa, Rotary Club
of Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan; Manoj D. Desai, Rotary Club of Baroda
Metro, Gujarat, India; Shekhar Mehta, Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar,
West Bengal, India; John G. Thorne, Rotary Club of North Hobart,
Tasmania, Australia; Guiller E. Tumangan, Rotary Club of Makati
West, Makati City, Philippines; Juin Park, Rotary Club of Suncheon,
Jeonranam, Korea; Elio Cerini, Rotary Club of Milano Duomo, Italy;
Gideon M. Peiper, Rotary Club of Ramat Hasharon, Israel; Per Høyen,
Rotary Club of Aarup, Denmark; Paul Knijff, Rotary Club of Weesp
(Vechtstreek-Noord), Netherlands; Sam Okudzeto, Rotary Club of Accra,
Ghana; José Ubiracy Silva, Rotary Club of Recife, Pernambuco,
Brazil; Bradford R. Howard, Rotary Club of Oakland Uptown, California,
USA; Michael D. McCullough, Rotary Club of Trenton, Michigan, USA;
Karen K. Wentz, Rotary Club of Maryville, Tennessee, USA; Michael
K. McGovern, Rotary Club of South Portland-Cape Elizabeth, Maine,
USA; and John C. Smarge, Rotary Club of Naples, Florida, USA.
