In memoriam Dr. Klaus Petersen

The former owner of the Obergassner photo wholesaler and long-time director of the European PMA office in Munich, Dr. Klaus Petersen, passed away on December 27, 2020 at the age of 88. Petersen started his activities for the American Photo Marketing Association (PMA) after he had sold Obergassner in 1990. Under his leadership, the PMA Munich office gained a large number of members in Europe during the 1990s. In addition, Petersen succeeded in significantly increasing the number of European visitors to what was then the largest annual photo fair in the world.

For many years, Klaus Petersen was one of the most respected personalities in the photo and imaging industry. As a successful wholesaler, he was known for his fairness and reliability, which even his competitors appreciated. As a representative of PMA, he leveraged his charisma to bring many people together for better business. In 1995, he was inducted into the PMA Hall of Fame, which includes legendary personalities such as Polaroid inventor Edwin H. Land, Canon founder Takeshi Mitarai and long-time Kodak Chairman and CEO,  Colby H. Chandler.

The team of INTERNATIONAL CONTACT had the honor and the pleasure to work closely together with Klaus Petersen for many years, when we published PMA’s European publications and supported the Munich PMA office in many ways. Thereafter, we have always kept the connection with him and his family. His death marks the end of an era: the photo industry, that he (like many people) loved so much, is now history; PMA has been a thing of the past for years, as has photokina been since 2020. We will continue to treasure the memories of many great years, and will remember Klaus Petersen as a wonderful person, whose friendliness, generosity and charm, will always be in our minds when his name is mentioned.