Advisory · Transactions · Conflict Resolution

Strategy and scaling
in advanced manufacturing.
From every side of the table.

Nearly three decades in deep-tech hardware, from the factory floor to the exit. Arno works with investors, corporates, and founders in advanced manufacturing when the stakes are high and the parties around the table don't yet speak the same language.

Arno G. Held
A rare
vantage point.

Most advisors know one side of the table. Arno has sat on every side of it, across nearly three decades in industrial hardware that began as a field service engineer in laser technology at TRUMPF, led through strategy and business development at EOS, and went on to co-founding AM Ventures and co-building it into the leading specialist investor in additive manufacturing.

Along the way he has evaluated thousands of startups, guided founders through their most critical decisions, and accompanied companies from first funding to exit, and more than once through the disputes in between. That breadth of perspective gives him a rare view of what separates hardware companies that scale from those that don't. It is the foundation of everything he does.

Services

01
Advisory
Strategy and scaling counsel for founders, executives, and boards in advanced manufacturing: market entry in sectors such as aerospace, defense, e-mobility, and data-center cooling, fundraising readiness, internationalisation, and long-term board roles. Senior-level sparring at the moments that decide whether a hardware company scales.
02
Transactions
Independent guidance through financing rounds, M&A, and exits, for investors assessing an opportunity and for companies preparing one. From first read to signing, with the pattern recognition of someone who has sat on every side of the deal.
03
Conflict Resolution
When shareholders, founders, and boards stop talking, value drains fast. Arno steps in as a trusted counterpart, with the industry depth to be taken seriously and the standing to be heard by every side. He works quietly, and before positions harden. Where investors, founders, and corporates find common ground.
On
confidentiality.

The most consequential conversations require a trusted counterpart: someone outside the immediate circle, without conflicting interests, and with the depth to engage seriously.

Engagements are conducted with full discretion. References are available to qualified parties upon request.

If the timing
is right, let's talk.

Engagements are selective and long-term by nature. Initial conversations are without obligation.

Arno G. Held · Principal

info@held-holding.com

Kochel am See · Available internationally