He is a Founder Member of the Quarter Club, which raises over $250,000 per annum for Australian Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.
Under the nearly 50 years of leadership by Geoff Gerard (Alfred's son and Robert's father), the business made several manufacturing breakthroughs and expanded.
Robert Gerard took over leadership in 1976, and expanded the business throughout Australia and South-east Asia, and into Hong Kong, India, South Africa, the UK and Russia.
[4] Requiring funds to "repay debt, build new businesses and let the Clipsal brand grow globally", in 2004 the Gerard family "opted to sell its stake to the French company Schneider Electric, as a sharemarket float did not look an attractive option".
[6] He resigned on 2 December 2005 amidst questions about a 14-year dispute between his family's business, Gerard Industries, and the Australian Taxation Office.