Gerrit has a BSc degree in forestry and an ML (Landscape Architecture). He is one of the most experienced FSC persons globally, with over 20 years of audit experience in over 50 countries. Gerrit started his career in forest management, but then he migrated into the ESG space early on when he became an environmental manager in SAFCOL.  He maintained this position until he joined the SGS Global Forest Certification team in 2002.

In 2005, he became the Director of the Forest Certification Programme and held this position until he left in 2018, when he became an independent consultant in the forest certification space, but also took up his current position as Head of FSC Training within the CMO Group.