Hermann studied Economics at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, and Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen. He received a PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1989.
Hermann started to work in 1998 for Verlagsgruppe Bertelsmann, first as an assistant to the CFO, later as Managing Director of the ILS institute, an institute for distance learning. In 1996, he became the Publishing Director of professional and text books at Carl Hanser Verlag in Munich.
In 2018, Hermann joined Atypon as Senior Director Business Development Europe. Atypon is a Wiley Company.