Gerd Wiest, IT
Nature can’t be restocked. That’s the sentence it all started with, says Gerd Wiest, when asked how he got into nature conservation. As a young man, Gerd often traveled in Africa, where he bought a T-shirt imprinted with the above phrase and a barcode that fades into zebras. “As an IT professional, I thought the T-shirt was cool and whenever I put it on, I had to think about its message that we can’t just refill nature at will.”
Gerd Wiest, born in Villingen in the Black Forest, studied business informatics in Furtwangen. An internship at HP directly led to his first job with the PC manufacturer. After a few years, Gerd became self-employed and worked for HP, a pharmaceutical company and a forwarding company. “When I thought about giving up my self-employment, I wanted to do something meaningful, to get away from this commercial pressure.”
Fortunately for EuroNatur, Gerd Wiest became aware of the foundation on a job portal. Gerd has been responsible for our internal information technology since May 2024. His range of tasks is broad: Among other things, he manages the digital workstations, takes care of server configurations and looks for the best software solutions.
Gerd himself says: “The way we work together here is exceptional. I have experienced a lot during my career, both positive and negative, but I was happy to give up my self-employment for EuroNatur. And if I can also make a small contribution to stopping the disappearance of biodiversity with my work, as printed on my T-shirt, then I’m very happy.”