After graduating as a biochemistry engineer and a stint at the Central Intelligence Agency, Rip Gerber attended Harvard Business School, then spent twenty years as a product and marketing executive in polymers, software and artificial intelligence. Rip Gerber has started several companies, winning awards and accolades in the hi-tech industry. As an author, his first novel, PHARMA, was a best-seller in Germany, followed by KILLER VIRUS, both published by RandomHouse/Heyne. His first short story, "A Fishing Day’s Correspondence", was published in The Virginia Literary Review in 1985. His most recent, THE LAST SUPPER, was selected from hundreds of entries to be included in the ITW Thriller Anthology: FIRST THRILLS, edited by Lee Child.