Gerd holds a degree in business information technology, an MBA from Mannheim Business School and a doctorate in business administration from Middlesex University in London. He started his career as an entrepreneur and later switched to IT consulting. From 2003, he held various management positions at the automotive supplier Hella Group. Before joining Swisscom, he was CIO at the B. Braun Group and, at the ZF Group, he was CIO for the Asia & Pacific region and Vice President for IT innovation and enterprise architecture management.