In October 2006, Schmidt became the Vice President of Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt Exhibition. In this function, he is responsible for more than 50 annual events worldwide in the fields of technical textiles, home textiles, garment textiles, fashion and textile processing.

Olaf Schmidt holds a diploma in textile engineering as well as a MBA. Schmidt started his professional career at rohi stoffe GmbH, a textile company in Geretsried, Germany. Following activities in international sales, he became a member of the board of management and was responsible for sales and marketing. In 2003, Schmidt moved to Spinnerei Lampertsmühle AG in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he was named Head of Operations, Marketing and Sales and had a position on the board of management.