← All 2025 founder mentors
Founder mentor signet
Hermann Arnold

Hermann Arnold

Hermann Arnold co-founded umantis and now combines climate-cooperative leadership with board work and early-stage investing.

Proudest Mentor Moment

"Helping founders weather tough times when nobody believes in them anymore. And especially rightsizing teams in a decent but bold way to get to profitability to grow again."

About

Hermann Arnold co-founded umantis and now combines climate-cooperative leadership with board work and early-stage investing.

Current Work

Co-founder and Co-chair, 42hacks

Hermann Arnold co-founded START Global and brainstoventures, the venture platform that later became b2venture. Technology developed within brainstoventures became umantis, a talent-management software company he co-founded and led as CEO and chair. Umantis was integrated into Haufe Group, where Arnold later held executive responsibility. His work there included experiments in distributed leadership and employee participation in selecting the chief executive.

Arnold now co-leads 42hacks, a Swiss climate cooperative working across mobility, energy and food. He chairs the Züriwerk Foundation and serves on the board of EnableMe. Alongside those roles, he invests in early-stage companies. His career connects SaaS company building, organizational change, governance and climate-focused collaboration.

Experience Hermann brings to founders

  1. SaaS company building
  2. Distributed leadership
  3. Board governance
  4. Organizational change
  5. Climate innovation

Operating and investing experience

A selection of companies and roles connected to Hermann Arnold.

Ventures

42hacks

Co-founder and Co-chair

umantis

Co-founder, former CEO and chair

brainstoventures

Co-founder

Stiftung Züriwerk

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Highlights

  1. Co-founded umantis and led it as CEO and chair.
  2. Helped introduce employee participation in CEO selection at umantis.
  3. Co-founded and co-chairs climate cooperative 42hacks.

Questionsfounders ask aboutHermann Arnold

Who is Hermann Arnold?

Hermann Arnold co-founded umantis and now combines climate-cooperative leadership with board work and early-stage investing.

What experience does Hermann Arnold bring to mentoring?

Their experience spans SaaS company building, distributed leadership, board governance, organizational change and climate innovation.

The best founder mentors
are founders themselves.

Know someone who belongs in the EWOR Fellowship?

Nominate a founder