Europe - After 21 years, Robe outgoing global sales director Ingo Dombrowski will step away from the business and retire from active duties at the end of 2025.
Dombrowski joined Robe in 2004 initially as business development manager, then became a key account manager for Europe helping to manage a period of rapid growth for the company, which saw it jump from being the aspiring ‘new kid on the block’ to a global market leader in moving light and LED technology. “It’s been an absolutely incredible journey,” Dombrowski stated, “and I am very proud to have played a part in Robe’s incredible ascendency”.
After the end of 2025, Dombrowski will be re-defining his work-life balance and focusing on sailing, cycling, spending time with his family and grandchildren plus the many other activities he enjoys.
Meantime, Dombrowski’s handover to Michel Arntz who takes over the global sales director mantle for The Robe Group, has already taken place over the past year.
Josef Valchar, Robe s.r.o’s CEO, commented: “We will miss Ingo enormously! His knowledge, experience, technical acumen and passion for the job have been of huge value and a vital contributor to Robe’s success.
“Apart from that, his character, humanity and balanced and fair outlook on life have been as inspiring as his commitment to finding innovative solutions to help keep us ahead of the curve. And . . . let’s not forget his killer dancefloor moves!”
Dombrowski has been in the entertainment/production industry all his professional life.
His interest in lighting and all things technical started early when he chose community services over army conscription in Hannover, Germany, during the 1970s. He simultaneously founded his own company, id technik, specialising in installing lighting and sound systems for clubs, as the disco scene was exploding at the time and that’s where all the action and fun was!
In the early 1990s Dombrowski joined what was then Martin Germany, and after a stint there, another well-known distributor, LightPower GmbH, to focus on boosting their nationwide lighting and technical sales campaigns.
For the rest of 2025, Dombrowski will be collaborating with Tony Perez who leads Robe’s Maritime division, working as his European counterpart in the specialist cruise ship sector. He also hints that there may be some consultancy projects on the table in the future.
“Ingo will always be part of our family,” commented Valchar, “It will be ‘see you later’ at the end of the year! We thank him for the hard work and great energy, intelligence and insights he has brought to us and wish him well with everything ahead.”
