Munich leads the way in business networking

As we often report, our member numbers are continually increasing. What we haven’t explained in detail is that our presence in certain cities is particularly strong. There are “XING strongholds” around the world, areas in which growth is particularly strong, and where our members are exceptionally active. Take Munich, for example: at present, more than 180,000 people in total are members of XING. That’s around 20 percent of all 930,000 working residents in Munich.

The countless events organized by members for members in the Bavarian city are testimony to their local networking prowess. Since the beginning of this year, members in Munich have organized over 5,000 events in total. This number is up 50 percent from the number of business gatherings organized last year. Spanning the whole spectrum of industry sectors and specialist areas, these events provide an opportunity for XING members to exchange face-to-face with their existing contacts and to make new professional contacts will people they might not otherwise have encountered. They include events held by the “Munich Finance Forum” and gatherings of professors, lecturers, students and alumni from Munich’s “Technische Universität”, to name just two.

As the home of the foremost and most active business networkers in Germany, Munich set the tone for the concept of official XING events around the globe with their regional group, the “XING Community Munich”. With over 40,000 members, it is the largest and one of the most active of all regional groups on XING. The activity and size of the group are largely thanks to the Ambassadors Martin Bockelmann and Johannes Woll. In May of 2004, they invited their business contacts to meet up in person, and the idea of XING Events was born. Since then, they have organized over 60 events. In many respects, Munich is the trendsetter: the worldwide philosophy behind official XING Events “Start on a personal note, and soon you’ll be in business” is a Munich motto.

Overall, more than 55,000 events have been organized via the platform since the beginning of 2008. The number of events being held is growing particularly fast in XING strongholds throughout the Mediterranean region, with members meeting up and networking on a personal level from regional events in Izmir, business cocktail receptions in Rome and entrepreneurial gatherings in Valencia. (Photo: Andreas Schebeta)