Gerard van der Sterre finished his bachelor’s degree traffic planning successfully in Tilburg (The Netherlands) in 1976 and his masters degree at the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1977. From that year onwards Gerard has worked professionally as a traffic planner. For the last 17 years he has been working for Arcadis Netherlands. From 1998 until 2008 as interim manager for a number of local authorities. From 2003 until 2008 Gerard also was chairman of the works council for Arcadis (3000 employees). In 2007 Gerard was invited to join the board of the foundation CooP-Africa, Cycling out of Poverty. He did not need a lot of time to react positively, because he realised that this foundation could contribute to a change in the poverty of African families. The possession of a bike helps to generate more income in a environmental way. The bike can also contribute very well in access to work, school and healthcare. By the end of 2010 Gerard was elected as chairman of the foundation. After visits to projects in Kenya and Uganda his motivation and enthusiasm have increased even more.
