Just one of many lunches we had to catch up over the years...

I just found out my mentor, colleague and friend passed away last October. I met Robert in 1981 at Atari and became very close friends..   We stayed in close touch, having lunch almost every year. When I didn’t hear from him lately, that’s when I googled his name and saw his obituary.   He came to my wedding, I’ll find the photo of him and upload it to this site.
My deepest condolences to his family, I will miss his friendship.

Robert’s Favorite Pic 
Marx Brothers 
‘A Day at the Races’ 

RIP Brother Robert

I’d like to send my deepest condolence to the Gersten family. My mother had the pleasure of working  for Robert for many years. Over time he went from employer to friend. While I only got to spend time with Robert on a few occasions, he never missed a birthday or holiday. He often checked in with my mother to see how I was doing after learning of my health ailments. He offered any knowledge and support he could when I was in school struggling to master software engineering, even offering to have Sasha tutor me in my advanced math courses at one point.  He was one of the kindest, most considerate, and selfless people I’ve ever known. Robert was truly a blessing in our lives. My mother and I are deeply saddened to learn of his passing. Thank you, Robert, for all you have done for us. 

Sending love and light to you all!

Shanelle and Estelle

Robert my Friend! Robert humanity moved  you! may u rest in joy of your loving life! i will miss you ! anthony alaimo

It's great reading all the memories here from Robert's work colleagues, showing a side of him I never saw. I mean, anyone who knew him even a little knew he had a steel-trap mind and a huge heart. But I had no inkling of his extraordinary leadership qualities. 

Robert and I first bonded at Grinnell, caravaning in several cars to Grateful Dead shows whenever they played within a few hundred miles. No run-of-the-mill Deadhead, he could go on at length with smart, literary analyses of Robert Hunter's lyrics. 

We became closer over summers in NY and closer still when I moved back to NY after graduation. Those were some tough years for Robert as he battled Crohn's disease and especially when he lost his dad. But then along came Jan and his smile and sense of humor were miraculously back intact. Sadly for us NY friends, Jan swept him away to CA. Marcia and I were at their lovely vineyard wedding, and we sometimes saw each other over the years on one coast or the other, but we largely drifted apart for a long time. 

But Robert never stopped thinking about his friends. Every now and then in recent years a book would arrive at my door, sans note or return address. Hmm, who could this be from? It might be about anything from the Gnostic gospels to great moments in World Series history, something I would never have picked up but always enjoyed. I'd read it and give him a call and we'd talk about it. Then I'd send one to him and he'd read it and call me. And in that way we became closer again and started meeting for lunch whenever he was in NY or I was in the Bay area.
 
As others have observed, he loved to talk about Sasha and Anna and their husbands and kids, as well as the troubled kids he worked with. Sadly, we (well, one of us) mixed up the dates for our last lunch plan and we ended up not being able to get together. Oh well, we said, next time.

Robert Gersten was a good man and a great boss. To work under his leadership at Hyperion has been a privilege. Professionally, Robert brought us many positives, individually and collectively.  Every interaction I had with him was a teachable moment.

Condolences to Robert's family and friends.

I join so many in grief and remembrance of Robert, a dear friend, mentor, colleague.

Robert was one in a million -- truly an institution in every sense of the word -- and a kind and gentle soul. Robert filled a big space in life and now with his passing leaves a big hole. I am grateful for the time he shared with me. I will miss him.

Sincere condolences to his family.

Robert was a true and loyal friend. I can still hear his quirky, infectious laugh.

Part Two

He also had an impressive collection of shoes, and later I learned why. He had worked for years in shoe stores. One day he spent a long time telling me what he’d learned. It took him about 20 seconds to size up a customer. He could tell from the shoes, and from what they were matched with, who the person was and whether this was a serious customer. And how to engage if he was, or disengage if he wasn’t. 

I knew so little about business that I didn’t realize then that all of this was evidence that his analytic skills translated well into that world. Yet, looking back on his career, it’s clear that they did. They were old-world abilities, but they served him well as he successfully worked his way through this age of emerging technologies.

But his life was more than business. There were old-world values that he also held dear. He cared deeply about his friends. He tried to be a force for good, and he donated to causes with his money and time. In recent years he told me stories about the kids he worked with through his county’s Court-Appointed Special Advocate program. As he recounted the ways they sometimes tried to manipulate him, it was clear his analytic skills were intact. But so was his heart. He was trying to help them, not nail them. His strategy was always focused on that.

Someday one of those kids will think fondly about Robert, and silently thank him. And somewhere Robert will smile.

Part One

Robert Gersten was an unusual character, a mix of old school and new. Actually, a mix of lots of ingredients. We both grew up in New York. He was from Queens; I grew up on Long Island. But we met in Des Moines, where we shared a cab that took us to Grinnell College for our first day of higher education. 

It took a while for us to become friends. I’m not sure I ever saw him again freshman year. And he wasn’t an easy person to get to know. He was socially awkward (not that I was a whole lot smoother), and he was a notorious mumbler. All of this made him, for some people, something of an acquired taste. It wasn’t immediately clear that he had an interest in socializing—or anything to offer in the transaction. 

But for those of us who got to know him, wow did he ever! And once we became friends, things were a lot easier because I could just come right out and tell him to speak up. There was no affectation involved. He just needed encouragement. And once you knew him, you could talk to him about anything. And he could speak with knowledge on a broad array of topics. 

In college we mostly connected over music and literature. Robert had a penetrating, analytic mind. He ended up majoring in political science, but he loved complex European novels like Auto-da-Fé, by Bulgarian writer Elias Canetti, who went on to write books on subjects like the power of crowds. 

The better you got to know him, the more Robert surprised you. At a time when most of his friends were dressing like schlubs (some of us still do), he had an impressive wardrobe (even if it was often scattered around his room). He had a range of stylish clothes, including colorful socks and velour jackets, though his appearance in them was often disheveled.

I remember Robert with gratitude and fondness. He possessed a rare magnanimity of soul that was remarkable. At Hyperion, he didn't just lead development, he fostered a sense of family.
He took a personal interest in every one of us and was authentically invested in both our professional growth and well-being. I felt like I could bring anything to him, and he would consider it seriously, often taking meaningful action.

Robert's genuine curiosity about people set him apart. He wanted to know about me as a person, my goals, and ambitions. It wasn't just small talk, he seemed to truly care and I felt that he strove to provide opportunities that matched those ambitions.

Robert's legacy lives on in the way we continue to inspire, support, and care for each other, just as he did. He taught us not only how to be better leaders and technologists but also how to be better human beings. His influence is a lasting and cherished memory.

We are so saddened by the news of Robert’s death and send our heartfelt condolences to the entire family. Robert was truly unique and will be missed by many. 

With love and care,

Michael Kahn and Ginny Munger Kahn

My thoughts about dear Robert echo the expressions of others on this memorial page.  Robert used to tell me, "patience, Claudia."  This sage advice I have given myself over the past 15 years since I last saw Robert.  I'm having trouble concisely paying tribute to a great man so I will leave a quote that I think he would have appreciated.

"Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." -Buddha

I wish I would have picked up the phone and called Robert the 100+ times I thought of it.  Robert, if you can see this, you made a great impression on me.  Your memory is indeed, a blessing.  Love, Claudia

I was fortunate to travel the world with Robert, meeting with customers and sales folks. He picked the restaurants, unfortunately, so we had American meatloaf in Tokyo, Thai food in Amsterdam, etc. Why the heck were we in Amsterdam? I know we didn’t translate our products into Dutch. Did we even have customers there? I dunno. Paris, Zurich, Rome, Milan, Koln, Frankfurt, and Bangalore. He passed on the chicken feet in Shanghai, so I took one for the team in order to not lose face with the country manager. Closer to home, as a couple of us walked into the Hyperion cafe with him, some diner started loudly humming the theme song to The Godfather. When I met Robert in the mid 90s, he was obviously the smartest guy in the room that day, and every day thereafter. He had no match when it came to  building effective teams that cared for one another. Keep on truckin’, my brother. And thank-you. Love to Jan, Sasha, and Anna.

It was great knowing Robert who was a thoughtful person with deep spiritual side
When we spoke sometime ago, he was proud of helping the poor with his knowledge and skills
I wish that I had met him more often at family gatherings and we both spent time with our mutual precious grand daughter…
Robert, RIP
Raghava

I also want to share some random interesting and funny memories. Robert was brilliant but also a bit of an absent-minded professor, so every day was an adventure.
- Robert was good with numbers. To the best of my knowledge, he did not have a written contact list, but rather had an incredible memory for people's phone numbers.
- Robert often carried cash in his pocket. Sometimes, that wad of cash fell out of his pocket. When one of us found it on the floor in his office, we would put it in a drawer, but I'm sure many people in the world ended up with a haul if it happened in public.
- Robert often lost his keys. He said one time, "So someone told me, when I get home, I should put my keys in the same drawer so I would always know where to find them. So now I do that." When he would go to a restaurant, he would turn the car off but leave the keys in the car so he wouldn't lose them.
- Robert had lots of sayings that he repeated in different situations. "Stick to the knitting" was my favorite. Apparently many of these sayings came from The Godfather.
- Robert loved cooking.
- Robert loved literature.
- Robert loved basketball and football. We went to a 49ers game together once.
- Robert was messy. His office would be messy at the end of the day. Estelle came in most mornings, stacked up the papers, and left him a bagel.
- Robert often lost his passport when traveling or left some clothes behind in a hotel room. He had a small army of people who would help him in these types of predicaments.
- When Robert's beloved cat died, he gave it a proper Jewish funeral.
- Robert was a twin.
- When an employee was diagnosed with cancer, he ensured that they would retain their health insurance even in the face of layoffs.
- Robert had a strong sense of right and wrong. When he perceived something was not handled correctly or someone was not treated with respect, he acted immediately.
- Robert said he ended each day thinking about what had happened and what he could have done better.

Robert was a once-in-a-lifetime boss and mentor, and I worked for him for 10 years. When he joined Hyperion, I expressed interest in building on the knowledge I had gained from the previous VP in the field of budgeting and finance. Not only did he mentor me and give me a role that built those skills but he also entrusted much of his own responsibility for the financial aspects of his job to me. He nicknamed me the Mayor since I helped run the "city" of engineering. I saw on a daily basis how he made decisions, how he took every opportunity to build people up, and how he rewarded the people in the organization financially and equitably.
At the end of every All-Hands meeting, he thanked each team individually, and then he reminded us that, at the end of day, it wouldn't matter what happened with a certain event in a certain project, but what will matter are the relationships and friendships that we built, and to be grateful.
Whenever I met him for lunch after we both left Oracle, he told me about his daughters and their lives and how proud he was of them. He adored his family and grandchildren.
I last saw Robert in person at my wedding reception in August 2019. We had talked on the phone a couple of times recently, trying to find a time to get together after I recovered from the flu. I last spoke to him on October 17 and we made arrangements to meet on October 25 for lunch in Mountain View at the site of the restaurant we used to meet at called Pasta? I was there on October 25, not knowing he had passed away. I am very sorry I was just a week too late to see him again.
Rest in grace and love, my dear friend. I carry you with me.

My sincere condolence to Jan, Sasha, Anna and families. I hope you can feel how much your father meant to so many people, how many lives he touched. His impact continues on with the people he mentored and coached, and befriended. So many stories here, on Linkedin, on other social media posts. He always made time for people. It didn't matter what their title or position in the company or life was, he treated everyone with respect. He also always held you front and center, updating everyone on the milestones in your lives with pride and love. 

I worked for Robert for over a decade. They were some of the best professional times of my life and I'm really thankful for what Robert did for my career but more thankful for the quality people he introduced into my life and the culture he built and fostered beyond those professional years. Please know that all of those lessons and experiences are actively paying it forward through all of us that were gifted them.

Robert was not only a great manager, mentor but also a wonderful friend. I'll always remember the way he guided and inspired me. Rest in peace, Robert, you'll be deeply missed.

Yossi Caspi

Robert was a dear friend and a mentor to me. I owe a lot of my personal and professional growth to Robert.

A deeply compassionate and empathetic leader who had an uncanny ability to read, connect and help people. 

One personal anecdote: When I went through a tough personal challenge in my life, Robert’s kindness left an indelible mark. Robert wanted to make sure I took care of myself - he would make the time and insist on taking me out for lunch every day to make sure I ate something.

I will ever be thankful for having Robert in my life.

Rest in peace, Robert.

I am shocked and saddened by the news. 

Like many of you he touched my life with his integrity as well as his intelligence.

I remember how he always closed the all-hands meetings, "let us be grateful for the opportunities that we have in our lives". That was how he lived his life.

My condolences to his family.

Rest in Peace!

I’ve had the honor and blessing of knowing Robert for 24 years.  Like many who shared memories here, Robert profoundly impacted my life and will live through my kids and generations to follow.  He shared his time, wisdom, and kindness unconditionally.  Robert would always ask about my family with such genuine interest and care.  He had a way of making you feel accountable for how you treat others.  I guess it was his way of enabling you to pay it forward for what he invested in you.  You are and will be missed, Robert.  I pray for comfort for the Gersten family and all of you who had the privilege of knowing Robert.

Deeply saddened to learn of Robert Gersten’s untimely death last week. 

With his passing, many of us have lost a dear friend & mentor, the BI/EPM community a truly original thinker, and Enterprise Software its Jerry Garcia.

His broad range of interests, universal sense of compassion and willingness to march to the beat of his own drum truly made him one of a kind: a joy to be with, an honor to know. 

Thank you for everything, Robert. May you rest in peace. 
Gaurav

We are very sad to learn of the passing of Mr Robert. We’ve known the Gersten family for the past 17 years and they’re very compassionate, loving, and caring. Our deepest sympathy to the Gersten family. Rest in peace Mr Robert.

RIP Robert - as Hyperion customers we always knew the solutions would be solid, and trusted the process.
Each 'project' would be a named after a classic literary author/poet - something the big man was fond of.
Your legacy lives on in the current 'Hyperion' dev teams passion and efforts.
You will be missed, but not forgotten.
Noel

Robert - my friend and mentor. Loved children with all his heart which deeply resonated with me. Proud and honoured to call you my friend.
My deepest condolencies to the family.

Heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues.

As an employee from Brio that got acquired into Hyperion, Robert welcomed us all with open arms, He was great mentor, excellent leader and most importantly people friendly as a CDO of Hyperion.
We never felt as outsiders coming into Hyperion, and to this day we associate with Hyperion a lot more.

Robert, you will be missed dearly.
May you RIP !

Robert was our VP of Engineering in Hyperion (and Oracle). He was a person with a big heart, knew all of us by name and would always walk the hallway and talk to the engineers. He was smart, intelligent and a role model. He was approachable and whenever you met him, he was always enthusiastic and engaging.  It was an honor knowing Robert. Condolences to his family and may he rest in peace

Robert was a good friend who I knew for over thirty years.  We exchanged many ideas over the years, and I appreciated his breadth and depth of intellect.  My wife and I both knew him in business and personal contexts.  We will miss him.

I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Robert. It's a time of profound loss, and I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to Robert’s family and our Hyperion & Oracle colleagues.

Robert was not just a boss but a mentor and a friend to many. His leadership was not just about guiding the team but also about building meaningful relationships. The memories of his wisdom, kindness, and dedication will forever remain in our hearts.

As we reflect on the moments we shared with Robert, two that touched me the most were his humanity and deep care for his teams, their families, and their happiness. Robert sponsored the annual Engineering ski trips and the kids' Christmas parties. Hyperion was the company where I felt like a family, and Robert was one of the pillars who built the great culture where we all cared for and supported each other.

Let us remember that Robert’s legacy lives on through the work we continue to do and the values he instilled in us.

With sympathy and fond memories, we will miss you dearly, Robert. Please rest in peace.

Sending loving prayers and my deepest condolences to Robert's family. My heart is so sad to hear of his passing. Robert was a dear friend, mentor and coach. I had the honor of working closely with him at Hyperion. Robert was a brilliant business leader, but more importantly, he was full of love and compassion for people. Robert had the gift of genuinely connecting to those around him. He was an incredibly loyal friend who lifted people up and made everyone better. I have so much gratitude for all of the life lessons he shared with me. We would often go to lunch together during the Hyperion days and rather than cover business topics, all he wanted to talk about was my daughters, his family, and his hopes for the future. I will cherish those memories and be forever grateful for his friendship. I will miss you, Robert. May you rest in peace.

Robert has been my mentor, sponsor, great friend and my second father for over 2 decades. I write this note with a deep sense of gratitude as well as immense sadness. I'm extremely thankful that I met him for dinner just 2 weeks back. I will cherish the memories forever. My thoughts and prayers are with his family - his daughters and grandchildren.

Wonderful memories of my interactions at Hyperion. Truly compassionate  empathetic leader and role model for teams across the globe.
Footprints on the sands of time, to cherish and follow.

My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. Robert was a great manager for me and he valued each member of his team. A great human being . RIP Robert. You will be missed.

I've lost a true, good friend. What a kind, caring man.  I first met Robert in 1992 at Rational.  Over the years, During the past 10 to 15 years, I visited Robert once or twice a month to watch whatever sporting event was in season.  I last spoke to Robert the Monday before last.  We had made plans to watch the 49ers together this past Monday. Robert loved to talk business and technology trends but probably even more world affairs and politics.  
Robert was caring and interested in me, my wife Ann, but mostly how our children were doing.  While it is true that Robert possessed a great intellect, I think his greatest attribute was the care and kindness he showed others,  especially those less fortunate than he.  
Robert took great pride in helping the teenage boys through the CASA program.  To these boys,Robert offered support and advice fostering an interest in their lives when they most needed it.  Robert has left such a positive mark on so many of us. 
I miss you Robert, all the more so when there's a Monday night football game.

Very sad to hear this news. May his soul rest in peace

Robert - great friend and mentor, you are deeply missed!  Fun memories and your wisdom live on; and will ignite many positive conversations in years to come.  You made every day count, proud and honored to call you a friend!

My deepest condolences to the family.

This is very sad news indeed. My condolences to the immediate and extended family. Sending sympathies and prayers. May his soul rest in peace. He will be missed.

My deep condolences for Robert and his family !
He was an illuminating guy, smart, confident, giving heart and trust to all around.
I remember him presenting Scorecard for the 1st time in Cirque d’hiver in Paris.
It was a sun spreading his light without counting.
I bet he had one idea per hour. He could have been artist, book writer, or any other inspirational discipline leader.
Don’t worry Robert, what you spread hasn’t been lost!

We met for lunch just a few months ago. Robert was full of energy and new plans. I was always amazed how he found time to keep contact with former colleagues and friends. He was always trying to help, shared his wisdom and life stories. It always felt like being part of one team since the day he took over at Hyperion and long after he left Oracle. Like part of one family. He attended my daughter's wedding in 2004 and invited me to Anna's wedding in 2019 (unfortunately I could not go). At Hyperion we were often asked whether we were brothers - perhaps similarity in appearance + often untucked shirts, similarity  in our sense of humor played its part. It is hard to express how much I learned from him. 
You will be sorely missed, my dear friend. Rest in peace. 
My deep condolences to the family...

Very sad to have learned of Robert’s passing. My condolences to his family.   I have fond memories of working with Robert on many of  our strategic Hyperion accounts.  He was brilliant, kind, generous with his time if we needed help in the field.  A consummate professional, highly respected leader and a true gentleman.

Rest in peace.

Robert was a close friend beginning back at Rational Software in 1986.  We shared many wonderful times together over the years, and his principled life was an inspiration to everyone he touched. He will be sorely missed. Sincerest condolences to all this many friends and especially to his family.

Robert was a great leader ensuring that his team is doing well. He was known as “Person with Integrity”and always stood for his team. 

My deepest condolences to the family. May his soul rest in peace.

I enjoyed every conversation I had with Robert when I was at OpsPanda. He was a great mentor with a kind soul always ready to share his thoughts and his experiences on helping the teens. He always encouraged me at work and shared his domain knowledge in sales. He had a serving leadership mindset and always showed interest in answering any deep questions I had in life or biblical history. He taught me to help others whenever we can and hold high standards in integrity.

Robert was a genuine empathetic leader. Many memories with Robert during the Hyperion days.  He will be missed as a father figure in the EPM space.

I feel blessed to know Robert for almost 30 years. He played a very significant role in my professional and more importantly my personal development. He had a special talent that he could see easily right through the facades of every person but never passed any judgment on what he saw. He was universally loved. Robert will always live in my memories of many lunches, dinners, business trips and long talks. My last memory of him was a few weeks ago when he asked me to pray for his granddaughter.

Remembering Robert brings a smile to my heart - as one of his Hyperion colleagues, I always looked forward to Robert standing up in front of a company meeting with that energy of his. Words are never enough to sum up the impact he had on all of us. My condolences to his family.

Worked with Robert in Hyperion. He is very caring person. May his soul rest in peace. Om Shanthi.

Robert was a great mentor, a thoughtful friend, and a true leader. Rest in peace, Robert.

Very sad to have learned of Robert’s passing.  My heartfelt condolences to his family.  

"We should be grateful for the opportunities we have been given and try to give opportunities to others". Robert said that in many different ways but more importantly, he embodied it in his actions. 
I remember when Robert and I got stuck in Stockholm because of the Icelandic volcano. I got a chance to show Stockholm to Robert, and we had a pleasant time but he preferred Amsterdam.

I will miss him tremendously but grateful I had him in my life.

I will never forget our lunch and dinner appointments. Even many years after we no longer worked together, Robert regularly reached out to catch up and he was always so selfless and just cared to listen and help in any way he can. This selfie is from one of our last meetups where we talked about everything from career, to family and how he misses his daughter and grandchildren, to stories about his mother, brother, and how he used to get wild in his younger days. It was always a pleasure to hang out and I wish we had more time together. Rest in Peace Robert. You will live on in my heart.

So sorry to hear of Robert's passing. I will NEVER forget him in front of the Hyperion masses telling us how awesome it was going to be... with half his lunch on his shirt. Fond memories....

Sad to hear this news. Grateful to Robert for the opportunities he provided me. Rest in peace.

I remember Robert well and his vision for Hyperion.  He always had time for customer sales calls.   He had a wonderful presence. His legacy lives on with Hyperions/Oracles' continuted success. 
Rest in Peace.  Christine Strong

To Robert’s family, I wish to express my wishes for you to celebrate his life, a life filled with deep love, empathy, compassion, and humor.

The EPM marketplace is filled with very connective tissue across thousands of people who are only one or two degrees of separation from each other.  Many of “us” stay directly connected because we love the market segment we work in AND the people we work with. 

To some small degree, I am to “blame” for bringing Robert into this market. And I’m so glad that I did.  In 1999,  I was a young, inexperienced executive responsible for the awesome Essbase engineering team. It was clear to me that it was in everyone’s interest that we recruit a seasoned engineering leader to help our team, and to some degree, the company stabilize and mature.

Robert and I spent time on a couple phone calls before finally meeting for a 4–hour interview at HQ.  I needed to dive deep into our challenges and expected real world responses to how he would be able to help me lead us through them. I was losing my voice due to a head cold, and I told Robert I didn’t want to be rude, but also didn’t want to shake his hand or sit too close.  He didn’t miss a beat.

As the son of a Human Resouces executive, my father had coached me into developing a very disciplined approach to interviews.  It involved key goals, preparation steps, but more importantly it focused on revealing the candidate’s humanity via stories.

All of Robert’s human traits (love, empathy, compassion, and humor), and his rich life experience emerged. There was no doubt that I wanted/needed him to help us. And the time we worked together to help stabilize, grow, and aim for the future with the awesome Essbase team was joyful.

Although I never told Robert that I was recruiting him to hopefully become my replacement, he would ultimately learn that my motivation was one he would totally respect… for the love of my daughters and wife.

God bless…

Robert Gertson was a great human being and very humble..He knew PPL by names and every time I visited Hyperion office he would stop by and ask about the work we are doing and give suggestions on what can be included. He was a great leader and role model to many of us who worked by his side.  He had a child like heart and hear to us enthusiastically. May his soul rest in peace 🙏🙏

Very sad to hear that Robert is no more.
My deepest condolences to the Gersten family.
I have lots of memories of lunches with Robert (specially pizzas!!). We had a long lunch and chat when he finally quit working and was headed to the East coast.
I will miss the rambling talks and sudden perspectives he would share every now and then.

Rest in Peace Robert!

My thoughts are with the Gersten family at this time. 
Robert was not just a manager and a mentor but also a friend. Long after we both left Hyperion/Oracle we would meet for dinner and talk about various things not limited to the world of technology and startups but also about literature, football, politics, finance, relationships and other eclectic topics. He would tell me how he was working with troubled youth and mentoring them and also taking film history classes at Stanford.
He was such a calming presence and always gave me invaluable perspectives about any situation that I brought up.
Robert, you were a true Mensch among Mensches. Rest In Peace dear friend. You will be dearly missed.

Very sad to have learned of Robert’s passing.  My heart felt condolences to his family. 

I have very fond memories of working at Hyperion Solutions, seeing and listening to Robert at company events was always a highlight. He was so very passionate about what we were doing. 

We in the UK team lovingly called him Uncle Jesse (from the Dukes of Hazzard). He was a beautiful man and I’ll miss him.

I write this note with a deep sense of sadness and gratitude, at the same time. Robert was more than a mentor and a manager for me; he was a true friend as well. He always loved both our children and would want to see their pictures, every time we met. Ever since we both left Hyperion/Oracle, we would meet for a quarterly lunch or dinner, and the first 15 minutes of our conversation was all about our two families. He was not just curious about what was going on, but would ask me detailed questions about my kids and share every detail about his daughters' lives and their children. He loved good Indian food and would always ask me to pick the place to meet for Lunch or Dinner. He would share his A1C numbers with me ... and kept close tabs on mine. Yes, it was his way of doing "Management Accounting" with a review of "Variances". I would always pick good salad places to go with him, and he would try to wiggle out of it; eventually would cave in. He was always unique in how he communicated, but with me, he was always honest and open to a conversation. He was a good listener, always. He would listen and react slowly, something that made everyone smile and love him. The last lunch I had with him in Palo Alto, a few years back, he said he felt a little lonely and was missing his grand children. I asked him to book a flight and go see them ... he texted me that very same week to thank me for that suggestion. 

Our prayers are with Robert's family, children and grandchildren, during this moment of grief. His smile will always be with us and with each one of you. My sincere condolences to everyone.

I share in the profound sense of loss and sorrow that so many of us feel today. I had the privilege of knowing Robert for more than two decades as a manager, a mentor, and, above all, a friend. His intellect, compassion, and integrity touched us all. He impacted my life in so many positive ways, for which I am eternally grateful. I was fortunate to meet with him often, and I always walked away with a new perspective on the topic we had discussed. He possessed a keen understanding of what is truly important in life, and he lived his life according to those principles. My deepest sympathies go to his family. He was incredibly proud of his daughters and their families.

It was shocking to hear the news - just met him last week for lunch . One of the best and so fortunate to have worked for him.

Learnt so much from him , some part of him will be with me for the rest of my life !

Miss you Robert !

A boss is someone who leads the way,
And guides you through your work each day.
They help you grow and learn new things,
And give you wings to spread your wings.

They're there to help when things go wrong,
And cheer you up with a happy song.
They're always there to lend a hand,
And help you get back on your feet again.

So here's to bosses, one and all,
Who help us stand up straight and tall.
We thank you for all that you do,
And hope this poem shows our gratitude.

I am devastated to say goodbye to such a lovely and kind person. I loved long talks with Robert, sometimes about software, but usually about world events, people, psychology or anything about everything. He was interested in just about any topic you could think of  and loved being a mentor to everyone who worked for him. He was just a beautiful soul. My heartfelt condolences to his family — he spoke so fondly about you.

Robert was a role model and a great mentor to so many in the planning community.  He had a great sense of humor and very humble.  His commitment to troubled kids and spending so much of his time to care for them has amazed me. I learned a lot from him and so happy that I got to know him.  Matt and I met him  few times after his retirement for lunch and dinner. We will cherish those memories.

I have so many fond memories of and with Robert. My deepest condolences to all of the family. Robert was an important part of my career and personal journey and I will miss him deeply.

Robert was a leader that I cherished. Vividly remember my interaction with him in Santa Clara Hyperion HQ when he asked me to do a project of Hyperion connecting to SAP BW. 
I also was thrilled when he mentioned me in his keynote in Barcelona about my expertise in building capex planning module. Few years back, I happened to meet in a meeting, and he remembered me we'll
He was a great people leader, had great finance as well as tech knowledge. 
Heartfelt condolences

There are no words to express my condolences for your loss. It is equally difficult to express my gratitude for the opportunities he gave me.

Robert was wonderfully brilliant and a genuinely funny human being. 

My heart goes out to his family. I wish you all peace.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Gersten family - Robert played an very important role in my life and he will be sorely missed. May you find comfort with the fact that he meant a lot too many of us and was held in such high regard by those who worked along side him- may he rest in peace.

OBITUARY

Robert Gersten

April 23, 1951 – October 25, 2023

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