Hamburg Innovation celebrates 20 successful years – CEO hands over to successor after ten years

Hamburg Innovation GmbH, one of the leading innovation and technology transfer companies in German is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The year of this milestone also marks a year of departure and renewal: the previous CEO, Martin Mahn, has handed over to his designated successor, Johanna Große-Lohmann, after a decade of successful work.

Under Martin Mahn’s leadership, Hamburg Innovation has achieved some remarkable successes in the past ten years. Both the volume of projects acquired and the number of employees at the company have more than quadrupled. By reorganising and expanding its range of services and positioning itself as a joint platform for innovation projects from Hamburg’s universities and research institutions, the company has been able to further strengthen its function as a central interface between business and science in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.

“It was a great pleasure to be able to make such an important contribution to the innovative power of the Hamburg region in the past ten years,” says Mahn. “I’m proud when I look back on Hamburg Innovation’s development and the many successful projects that we’ve tackled with our shareholders and partners in that period. For me, the handover to my successor, Johanna Große-Lohmann, is the logical next step in the successful development of this institution, which is so unique in Germany.” The strong growth in recent years and the challenges of the coming ones now call for dedicated management and a new leadership personality, Mahn continued.

“As the new CEO of Hamburg Innovation GmbH, I’m looking forward to building on the successes of the past and working with a talented and committed team to help shape the future of innovation in Hamburg and beyond in order to advance effective answers to the challenges of tomorrow,” says Johanna Große-Lohmann, the new CEO of Hamburg Innovation as of January 2025. “With a clear focus on the strengths of PIER Plus and the needs of research and business, we will continue to be a driver of growth and success in Hamburg in the future.” With over ten years of experience in managing funding and innovation, Johanna Große-Lohmann brings to her new role comprehensive expertise in developing and implementing forward-looking projects with complex consortia. Her successes to date, including with Ernst & Young GmbH WPG and Eppendorf SE, highlight her ability to achieve sustainable growth through innovation partnerships.

Hamburg’s Minister for Science and Research, Katharina Fegebank, says, “Hamburg is a  research location generating a stream of innovative ideas. To ensure that none of these ideas is lost, we also need strong interaction between academia and industry. If the transfer of knowledge and technology is successful, we all win: academia, business and our city. For 20 years, Hamburg Innovation GmbH has been blazing important trails here. I’d like to thank Martin Mahn for his commitment and look forward to working with Johanna Große-Lohmann to achieve even more made in Hamburg innovation.”

Though the world has changed greatly since 2004, the Hamburg Innovation’s mission remains unchanged: Building bridges between academia and industry for the benefit of society. “Innovations can only realise their social benefits if they are put into practice. Building direct connections with business is thus of great importance. This is how knowledge transfer to market-ready products and solutions works. Hamburg Innovation GmbH has been working successfully in this area for 20 years now and thus making an important contribution to Hamburg as a centre of innovation. I’d like to thank Martin Mahn for his long years of commitment and wish Johanna Große-Lohmann all the best and much success for her new responsibilities,” says Dr Melanie Leonhard, Hamburg’s Minister for Business and Innovation.

The Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Professor Jetta Frost, looked to the future: “Things are really starting to move in Hamburg’s innovation ecosystem. For 20 years now, Hamburg Innovation has been a reliable partner and will continue to be committed to driving developments forward. We universities in Hamburg want to establish Hamburg Innovation as our joint transfer platform so that we can implement innovative ideas from academia in the Metropolitan Region. As shareholder universities, we’d like to thank Martin Mahn for his ten very successful years as CEO and look forward to working closely with our new CEO, Johanna Große-Lohmann.”

The outlook for the future is promising: the planned alignment with Hamburg’s new science clusters, PIER Plus, represents a strategic step both in terms of content and with regard to the involvement of shareholders and interest groups. The close cooperation with Tutech Innovation GmbH will also continue.

About Hamburg Innovation GmbH

As the knowledge and technology transfer company for Hamburg’s universities, Hamburg Innovation opens up access to the latest research findings, academic expertise and promising technology. Hamburg Innovation connects entrepreneurial and academic potential and is an important partner today for more than 20 universities and research institutes.