In Germany, every company—regardless of its size—is legally required to offer a corporate pension. Yet the system that underpins this requirement is still mired in paper forms, complex calculations, and manual processes that clog HR departments and confuse employees. For Catherine Leser, co-founder of Penzilla, this inefficiency was more than an administrative headache—it was an opportunity to rethink how retirement planning could work in the digital age.

“Pensions are such a stable, necessary product,” Catherine says. “If we didn’t build this company then, during the pandemic, I don’t think we would have done it at all. It was time to just try.” Read on to discover how Penzilla has grown and what the team has planned for the future.

About Penzilla

Penzilla is a German fintech company revolutionizing corporate pensions through automation and digitalization. By replacing manual processes, paperwork, and error-prone spreadsheets with AI-powered software, Penzilla enables companies to streamline pension administration, reduce costs, and ensure employees are better prepared for retirement. Backed by leading investors, Penzilla is scaling rapidly with a mission to close the pension gap and secure financial futures.

About Catherine Leser

Catherine Leser is the co-founder and Managing Director of Penzilla, where she leads go-to-market strategy and growth. A former management consultant at PwC, she combines business expertise with entrepreneurial drive. Alongside her husband and co-founder, Christoph, she launched Penzilla in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Consulting to Entrepreneurship

The story of Penzilla begins with family and professional legacy. Catherine and her husband, Christoph Leser, met while working in management consulting at PwC. Both came from entrepreneurial families; his mother had run a pension-focused business for decades, while Catherine’s family was full of independent doctors. As Catherine says, “the desire to build something of their own was always there.”

“We were at that point in consulting where we had to decide whether we wanted to take the partner track for life, or build something real,” Catherine recalls. “We chose to build.”

In 2020, amid the uncertainty of the pandemic and Catherine’s first pregnancy, they decided to explore the idea that would become Penzilla properly. Christoph returned to his family’s company for a year to gain deeper insights, and together they developed the blueprint for Penzilla: a fully digitized corporate pension solution that would automate administration, reduce costs, and close Germany’s widening pension gap.

“We decided to do something real and just try it out.”

Fixing a broken system

To understand the problem Penzilla set out to solve, you first have to understand the sheer complexity of the German pension landscape. Every employee event—such as parental leave, sabbaticals, sickness, or job changes—has a ripple effect on pension contributions. Traditionally, HR teams have notified brokers and insurers manually, resulting in a deluge of paperwork and cluttering offices with folders of contracts.

“Right now, the process is entirely manual,” Catherine explains. “Every change requires multiple steps, often with stacks of paperwork sent back and forth. It’s slow, error-prone, and expensive.”

Penzilla replaces that chaos with automation. Companies use the platform to digitize contracts, integrate with payroll, and cut pension administration costs by up to 40%. HR staff are freed from endless calculations, and employees gain clarity about their future benefits.

“We take away 100% of the manual work companies do today.”

Scaling ambitions

Since its founding, Penzilla has attracted strong investor backing, completing a pre-seed round in 2023 and a seed round in 2025 with Robin Capital. With fresh capital, the company is positioning itself as the trusted advisor on corporate pensions for mid-sized and enterprise companies.

Differentiation is key in a space where both traditional brokers and legacy software providers dominate. “Brokers often specialize in just one pension type,” Catherine notes. “Companies don’t want four or five contact people—they want one solution. And the big software providers? Their systems are decades old and designed for insurers, not employers. We built Penzilla for companies first.”

The long-term vision extends far beyond Germany. Catherine hints at ongoing discussions with a major Japanese insurer and contacts in the UAE. “Corporate pensions exist in almost every country, even if the regulations differ. Our ambition is a global platform that can manage any pension type, anywhere.”

“We’re building a state-of-the-art pension solution—something the market has never seen.”

Leadership and culture

Building a company like Penzilla from scratch comes with challenges—technical, commercial, and cultural. On the product side, the team has had to navigate Germany’s fragmented regulations, ensuring every integration with payroll systems is flawless. On the sales side, there’s the issue of perception.

“Corporate pensions don’t have the best reputation,” Catherine admits. “People just don’t want to talk about them. Our job is to capture attention with the promise of relief—because once people understand that we eliminate the burden, they get excited.”

Her leadership philosophy emphasizes empowerment and openness. “We hire people who are better at their jobs than we are. Feedback flows both ways. We set high performance expectations but also encourage experimentation—even failure is fine, as long as we learn from it. Above all, we want Penzilla to be a place people love working for.”

Balancing leadership with marriage and parenthood adds another dimension. “We worked together before, under pressure, so we knew it would work,” Catherine says. “We have clear responsibilities—Christoph owns product and tech, I own go-to-market. At home, of course, the business is always there, but we understand each other because we both know what’s truly important in the moment.”

“We strongly believe Penzilla will only succeed if everyone loves working here.”

The future

Penzilla’s ambitions are bold yet grounded: first to dominate Germany, then to expand internationally. The company’s software, powered by automation and AI, promises to make pensions seamless in an era of demographic shifts and rising old-age poverty.

For Catherine, the mission is both pragmatic and deeply personal. “We want to make sure people retire healthy and wealthy. Too many don’t realize the pension gap they face until it’s too late. Penzilla helps close that gap.”

Quick-fire round

A tool you can’t live without?

“HubSpot for sales—but really, I’m a big fan of to-do lists. I update them every night and every morning.”

A startup you admire?

“Personio. Despite so many HR systems already in the market, they created real momentum and became the go-to solution.”

How do you recharge?

“Honestly, with two kids and a company to run, I don’t get much me-time. A long weekend breakfast without talking about work feels like a luxury.”

Best advice you’ve received?

“Never stop learning. And from my mom: always make sure you’re independent, never rely entirely on someone else.

Penzilla is hiring. Currently, they’re seeking back-office and insurance experts and would appreciate it if people would spread the word, as “talent and passion make all the difference.” If you want to help transform the future of pensions—or know someone who does—visit penzilla.com/careers