Gerhard Pawelka

Gerhard Pawelka is a co-founder of and toils as the CEO of Cooper Perkins, Inc. He has over 20 years of technical leadership and business management experience. Gerhard spent 9 years designing medical, business, and consumer products at IDEO Product Development before leaving in 1998 to co-found and manage Tune Corporation, creator of the PowerTap cycle computer. As CEO, Gerhard raised venture funding, set the product strategy vision, built the team, launched a series of successful products, and finally negotiated the sale of the company in 2000. Prior to Tune and IDEO, Gerhard was an engineer at Cannondale, a high-end bicycle manufacturer. Gerhard is a dual-citizen of Austria and the United States, holds 7 US patents, serves on the Board of Advisors of the MIT Museum, and holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Arts in Diplomacy. A former pilot, former ski instructor/racer, former bicycle racer, former performing classical guitarist, and former polyglot, Gerhard was once interesting.