Gerard has been an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers for 30 years. Throughout his career he has held various senior positions in both private and public companies, including those of Finance Director, Director of Information Technology and Director of Customer Service. He was part of a senior executive team that took a major blue chip company from start to £200m per annum before moving on to develop NEST Management.

Gerard, who has a MA in Customer Service Management from Nottingham Trent University, has written and lectured on the subjects of customer service and business planning. Prior to his work advising martial arts businesses he was teaching and consulting at a number of companies.

He has trained in Wado Ryu karate since the early 90's, starting at the age of 40, and now holds a second degree black belt. He is also a Freeman of the City of London and sits on the awarding committee for one of the oldest City Guilds.