Prof. Dr. Frank Gebert: Professional Career

 

From international tennis professional to Chairman of the Executive and Supervisory Boards of global corporations—and subsequently university professor, bestselling author and management advisor.

 

Career Overview

 

Prof. Dr. Gebert’s career has followed an exceptional path: from international elite athlete to strategic and operational entrepreneur, corporate developer and turnaround executive, global business expert and advisor, university professor and author.

 

His professional journey has been shaped by relentless commitment, integrity, a clear focus on objectives and an unwavering determination to succeed—combined with a strong belief in supporting others and acting with fairness and loyalty.

 

His core areas of business expertise include the market-oriented development and leadership of national and international companies, the optimisation of corporate value creation, and the internationalisation of business models.

 

Professional Sport as a Foundation

 

The foundations of Frank Gebert’s professional career were laid on the tennis court at an early age. As a finalist at the Wimbledon Junior Championships, a multiple winner of German and international championships, and a Top 50 player on the global ATP Tour, he learned to deliver peak performance under intense psychological pressure.

 

Professional tennis taught him to pursue his goals with complete dedication, to assume responsibility with mental strength at decisive moments, and to deal appropriately with both outstanding success and bitter disappointment. The values and capabilities he developed in international professional sport became fundamental to his subsequent career in business.

 

A Career in Corporate Leadership

 

After graduating in business and economics and completing his doctorate with distinction, Frank Gebert advanced within only a few years from an employee-level position to Managing Director, Executive Board member and Supervisory Board member, ultimately serving as Chairman of both Executive and Supervisory Boards.

 

At the highest level of corporate leadership, he assumed responsibility for internationally leading companies. His primary focus was on efficiency-driven operational restructuring and the strategic realignment of corporate groups and their subsidiaries to generate sustainable growth.

 

His responsibilities included developing existing markets and implementing new internationalisation initiatives through the establishment of foreign subsidiaries, international joint ventures and strategic partnerships, as well as the acquisition and divestment of business units.

 

His work in value-driven corporate development and the expansion of international operations into promising global markets gave him a profound understanding of both the internationalisation capabilities of companies and the critical success factors involved in entering foreign markets—each with its own social and business cultures and economic structures.

The geographical scope of his executive responsibilities primarily covered Europe, including Russia, as well as the Middle East, China and the United States. Frank Gebert held responsibility for corporate groups employing up to 8,500 people. Key organisations in his professional career included Bertelsmann AG, Boston Consulting Group, Altana AG, Eternit AG, Raab Karcher Baustoffe and Alno AG.

Prof. Dr. Gebert’s corporate responsibilities also brought him into contact with leading figures on the international political stage. He conducted negotiations at the Kremlin, was a guest at the French presidential palace and received invitations from then US President Bill Clinton. He also had the honour of exchanging views with former German Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Dr. Helmut Kohl.

His decades of personal experience in developing companies within a highly competitive global environment—combined with his deep, analytically grounded understanding of international economic and business mechanisms—have made Prof. Dr. Gebert a respected advisor and discussion partner in political circles as well as in business.

 

A New Milestone: Research and Teaching

Motivated by the desire to pass on the experience he had gained in business to the next generation of potential leaders, Frank Gebert accepted a professorship in Business Administration at SRH University Heidelberg after concluding his corporate career.

His principal fields of expertise were International Market Management and Strategic Corporate Development. During his time at SRH, Prof. Dr. Gebert was responsible for the MBA Sales Management programme as part of his academic remit. He also contributed to the university’s academic governance as a member of the Faculty Council.

 

Sharing Knowledge as an Editor and Author

During the final years of his teaching career at SRH University Heidelberg, Prof. Dr. Gebert decided to make the knowledge and experience he had gained as a C-level executive in international business accessible to a wider audience of business leaders and aspiring executives.

His publications combine the realities of corporate management with the economic theories and models he taught as a university professor.

In 2022, together with his friend Markus Milz, he co-edited the book Vertriebskompendium – Expertenwissen aus der Praxis für die Praxis (Sales Compendium—Expert Knowledge from Practice for Practice), which remained on the bestseller lists for several weeks.

 

One year later, he published Internationaler Markterfolg – Wachstum im globalen Wettbewerb (International Market Success—Growth in Global Competition), which received a highly positive response. The book provides a comprehensive strategic compass for the value-oriented development of companies and their business areas within the global economy—from fundamental corporate decisions to the customer conversations that ultimately determine revenue.

 

Management Advisory for Sustainable Business Value

 

Prof. Dr. Gebert draws on the expertise he acquired as Chairman of Executive and Supervisory Boards, together with the academic perspective gained through his work as a university professor, to advise founders, shareholders and the senior management of national and international companies.

 

His core strength lies in identifying and mobilising the performance potential of businesses by developing growth and efficiency strategies for domestic and international markets—with the objective of achieving sustainable, future-oriented value creation.

 

Prof. Dr. Gebert supports his clients as a member of Supervisory or Advisory Boards and as an independent management advisor.