Gerd Janssen was born in 1960 in Northern Germany. From 1981 to 1988, he studied a variety of subjects, including civil engineering and English. During this period he also spent one year at the University of South Dakota on a Fulbright Scholarship. Gerd received his Master’s degree in German Studies from the University of Wyoming in 1990.

In November of that year, Gerd took a position as technical translator and project manager at Kranebitter, a translation company in Reutlingen, Germany. It was here that he first came into contact with translation memory technology (IBM TM/2). Gerd decided to specialize in this area, becoming a TM/2 administrator just one year later. From this point on, he was also put in charge of training Kranebitter’s translation staff. In early 1994, Gerd took a position at Alpha EDV Organisation GmbH, the Kranebitter subsidiary responsible for TM/2 sales in Germany.

Gerd changed to Böblingen-based STAR GmbH shortly thereafter, where he felt he had a more promising future. From 1994 until his death, Gerd was primarily responsible for sales of Star’s translation memory product, Transit. During this period, he became one of the great pioneers of the industry, receiving international acclaim for his achievements.

Paying tribute to Gerd, Bernd Dobbert of STAR GmbH said that he made a large contribution to STAR’s position as one of the market leaders in this segment today. Gerd’s in-depth product knowledge and customer orientation helped STAR recognize how important it is for product development staff to be more responsive to the support requirements expressed by clients.

Gerd’s determination to drive forward the language industry was also apparent in his commitment to LISA. A regular exhibitor, he was one of the first members to encourage LISA to run translation tools workshops. He felt that an open discussion environment was best suited to discussing customer support and training issues peer to peer—even among competitors. He was also passionately determined to bridge the often perceived gap between humans and machines.

We shall remember him with fondness and gratitude for his contribution to the industry.