Mr. Gerke joined the board in June 2021. Thomas Gerke served as the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer at global consumer tax services provider H&R Block from January 2012 until January 2022 and thereafter served as Senior Vice President until his retirement from H&R Block in September 2022. During parts of his employment with H&R Block, he served in additional roles, including interim Chief Executive Officer and leader of the human resources function. From January to April 2011, Mr. Gerke served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of YRC Worldwide, a Fortune 500 transportation service provider.
He also held executive roles for more than 15 years with various publicly held telecommunications companies, most recently as Executive Vice Chairman of CenturyLink, a Fortune 500 integrated communications business, from July 2009 to December 2010. Prior to that, he was President and CEO at Embarq, then a Fortune 500 integrated communications business, and he held the position of Executive Vice President and General Counsel – Law and External Affairs from May 2006 to December 2007. From October 1994 through May 2006, Mr. Gerke held a number of executive and legal positions with Sprint Corporation, serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for more than two years.
Mr. Gerke currently serves as a board member of Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., a leading broadband and business communications provider. He is a former director of organizations including Tallgrass Energy GP, LLC, the general partner of Tallgrass Energy, LP; CenturyLink; Embarq Corporation; and the United States Telecom Association. He served previously on the Rockhurst University Board of Trustees and The Greater Kansas City Local Investment Commission Board of Trustees.