Rip Gerber

Rip Gerber is the author of "PHARMA" (Random House, July 2007), a German-language thriller that achieved best-seller status in Germany in 2007. His website states that he is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and a high-tech entrepreneur with a biochemical engineering degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. During his tenure as a software executive he was frequently quoted on wireless communication and email marketing trends, and he was a keynote speaker at software industry conferences from 1999 through 2006, before devoting his attention to writing.

Professional career

Rip Gerber was the Chief Marketing Officer and head of Ecommerce and Business Development for NOKIA(NOK)( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia )following its acquisition of Intellisync, a wireless software company, in 2006. Mr. Gerber was a corporate executive and marketing force behind several high-profile branding campaigns and product launches before he left the high-technology sector to become a full-time writer.

Intellisync Turnaround and Sale to Nokia

In 2004, Mr. Gerber joined Intellisync, then a struggling consumer datasync company, to lead a restructuring, repositioning and re-branding ofthe company, consolidate its products and market focus and positionIntellisync for sale. Mr. Gerber and CEO Woody Hobbs transformed thecompany and brand to a worldwide leader in wireless email and mobilesoftware for the enterprise and wireless carrier markets. Nokia acquiredIntellisync for $480M in February 2006. During this period Mr. Gerberwas an often-quoted industry expert on wireless technology and corporatemobility.

Consulting Period

Prior to joining Intellisync, Mr. Gerber served as Managing Director andGroup Vice President of Carlson Marketing Group, the $2 Billionsubsidiary of Carlson Companies. Mr. Gerber led regional integration ofCMG's acquisitions, notably the Peppers & Rogers Group, and he initiatedand led the firm's technology practice for clients including HP, Intel,Oracle, Xerox and Home Depot. Prior to that he was Senior Vice Presidentfor Digitas Inc. (NASDAQ: DTAS) where he established the firm's B2Bdivision, leading strategic marketing programs for Microsoft and CharlesSchwab, advising CMOs and senior client executives on strategy, marketpositioning, customer acquisition and retention, CRM, communications,branding and infrastructure investment.

Email Infrastructure

In 1999 Mr. Gerber joined a company based out of Tel Aviv, Israel and took the company public on NASDAQ. At Commtouch Inc., an email infrastructure company, (NASDAQ: CTCH), Mr. Gerber served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer and led several operating divisions. Prior to that, Mr. Gerber also served as Presidentof @once Inc, an email marketing company he founded, which was later acquiredby InfoUSA.

Pre-Silicon Valley Roles

Prior to his work in software, Mr. Gerber was a senior practitioner at Deloitte & Touche, later Deloitte consulting. He is most noted for being the first management consultant in Deloitte's software practice in 1992. He also served in Deloitte's Merger & Acquisition division (and an affiliation with KKR), and helped build the firm's Financial Services practice, serving clients such as Bank of America, Charles Schwab, and First Republic Bank. He was also a key analyst in the thrift portfolio consolidation for Gerry Ford's acquisition of Cal Fed.

Mr. Gerber also held key line positionsas a senior marketing director at American Express, Inc. in New York, where he was the youngest employee in American Express's history to join the Graduate Managament Program. He built the first polychromatic polyethylene manufacturing plant for Firestone Tire & Rubber in Hopewell, Virginia. He began his career at the Central Intelligence Agency, with documented roles in both the Psychological Testing Division in Arlington, Virginia and at Central Records in Langley, Virginia.

Credentials

Mr. Gerber earned a biochemical engineering degree from the University ofVirginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has served onnumerous boards and industry committees. He is also a published author(PHARMA; Random House in July 2007; PILOTS TO PROFITS; Hudson House in2005). He is a member of various writing and national organizations, including:

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International Thriller Writers

Squaw Valley Writer's Conference (2007)

San Francisco Writer's Workshop

Mystery Writers of America