Verena Hermelingmeier is a PhD candidate and Research Fellow at the Centre for Transformation Research and Sustainability (TransZent) as well as the Schumpeter School of Business and Economics at the University of Wuppertal. As part of the group, Verena analyses the role of business in the transition towards an Urban Sharing Society. In her research, she is interested in strategies of incumbent firms in dealing with niche trends and their interplay with niche actors.

Before joining UrbanUp, Verena has been working as a research fellow in the Berlin Office of the Wuppertal Institute with a focus on transformation research and transformative education. She holds a Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) in Corporate Management and Economics from Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen and a Master’s degree (MSc.) in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University Sweden. Verena has also been trained in Design Thinking at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam and works as a freelance process facilitation and methods coach.