Laurin Waldmann and Finn Rieken return to the TUM campus to mark their 10th mentoring anniversary (Photo: TUM)
The TUM alumnus was working as a manager at a consulting firm at the time and invited his mentee to visit him in Frankfurt. “Laurin was a total diamond in the rough,” recalls Finn Rieken. Laurin Waldmann was then in his first bachelor’s semesters studying Molecular Biotechnology at TUM. He was getting good grades, but felt somewhat lost when it came to his professional future. “Finn saw more in me than I believed in myself,” says Laurin Waldmann today.
Career in academia or industry? The mentoring program opens up new professional paths
Frankfurt, 2017: Laurin Waldmann stood somewhat lost among the high-rises, waiting for Rieken. “Then Finn came by in his suit and took me up to his office, all the way to the tenth or twelfth floor.” It was the first time the TUM student got a look inside a consulting firm, met Rieken’s colleagues, and realized this could be something he would enjoy — and something he had a talent for. “I was shown a path there that I hadn’t known existed,” recalls Laurin Waldmann. For the first time, it wasn’t solely about molecules, biology, and chemistry, but about the intersection of science and business — a world outside the lab. “For me, that was a total inspiration,” he says today. Together with his mentor, he developed a vision for his future.
Laurin Waldmann went on to apply for scholarships, spent a semester studying at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore through the TUMexchange Program, completed an internship at Boehringer Ingelheim, wrote his master’s thesis at Harvard Medical School, and conducted doctoral research at the TUM Entrepreneurship Research Institute. Throughout this entire time, his mentor accompanied him along the way — by phone, video call, and in person whenever possible. “Without Finn, I probably never would have dared to do any of it. He always gave me the courage,” says mentee Laurin Waldmann. “Being able to give something back is a really good feeling,” says Finn Rieken.
A partnership that inspires: 10 years as a TUM mentoring duo
And that support did not end with the official program. While the mentoring relationship in the TUM Mentoring Program for Alumni and students is typically designed to last one year, many duos continue their exchange well beyond that.
For Laurin Waldmann and Finn Rieken, however, it has grown into an exceptionally long-lasting connection: they have been in regular contact for more than ten years. What began as conversations about first career steps gradually evolved into an ongoing dialogue: as Laurin progressed from student through international experiences to a doctorate and into industry, Finn remained a consistent point of contact — by phone, video call, or in person.
They still speak regularly today, keeping up with each other’s developments — and have no intention of stopping. “We’ll easily make it to twenty years,” says Laurin Waldmann. His mentor agrees. “We simply get along well. The personal match is enormously important,” says Finn Rieken. That, he says, is what has built trust in the relationship on both sides over the years. Today they motivate each other to keep pursuing their professional paths, to grow, and to seek out new challenges.
Above the rooftops of Frankfurt: mentee Laurin Waldmann and mentor Finn Rieken at their in-person meeting in 2017 (Photo: private)
“I Am Truly Proud of Laurin”
Back in Frankfurt in 2017, after the visit to Rieken’s office, Laurin Waldmann and Finn Rieken headed to a bar, chatted, and got to know each other better. Nearly a decade later, Laurin Waldmann has now moved to the city where it all began. A few days ago, he thought he’d pay that bar a visit. “It’s simply gone,” he tells his mentor Finn Rieken with a grin. “Our mentoring relationship outlived it.”
TUM Alumni Laurin Waldmann and Finn Rieken (Photo: TUM)
Bachelor in Molecular Biotechnology 2009, Master’s 2010
Finn Rieken studied Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich, completing both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there. He went on to gain practical experience outside of academia, spending several years in innovation management and management consulting, including at Stratley, KPMG, Clariant, and goetzpartners. In 2025, he completed his doctorate as a PhD candidate at ETH Zurich in the field of organizational innovation capacity. Today, the TUM Alumnus holds senior strategy and leadership positions in the life sciences and chemicals industry, working as Strategy Director at the GNT Group, where he is also a member of the Executive Team.
Laurin Sebastian Waldmann
Bachelor in Molecular Biotechnology 2017, Master’s 2019, Doctorate 2026
Laurin Waldmann studied Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich and spent a semester abroad at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore during his studies. The TUM Alumnus completed his master’s thesis in the field of microbiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. After working at Bristol Myers Squibb, he returned to TUM, where he supported life sciences spin-offs at TUM Venture Labs and conducted doctoral research at the TUM Entrepreneurship Research Institute on academic entrepreneurship. Today, Laurin Waldmann works as Innovation Readiness Manager at Eli Lilly and Company.
