Galorath, founded in 1979, has evolved from estimation pioneers to AI-driven platform innovators, delivering SEER® and SEERai™ for cost, schedule, and risk planning. Leading the International Sales for Galorath, Julia Gerth helps expand its global footprint, enabling enterprises across aerospace, defense, IT, and manufacturing to leverage AI-powered operational intelligence for faster, more defensible decisions throughout the project lifecycle.
Julia Gerth is leading the international sales for Galorath, bringing a proven record of new business growth, market penetration, and account management expertise. Known for her self-drive and initiative, she focuses on building long-term customer relationships, driving team success, and supporting business growth across global markets. Her leadership style blends determination with empathy, empowering teams while delivering measurable impact.
1. Career Journey: Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career, especially one that shaped your leadership approach at your current company?
In my previous job, I had been asking for an opportunity to move into management, and eventually, I assumed a management role in the manufacturing department. As a woman stepping into a very traditional, male-dominated manufacturing environment, no one really thought I could make it work, especially not with long-established manufacturing sales teams. Very few people believed I would last more than a couple of months. In the end, it became a real success story. My team achieved nearly 70% year-over-year growth, highlighting the impact of a new approach and the potential for further business growth.
This experience proved to me that with determination, anything is possible, and it’s a story I’m proud to share. That said, it wasn’t easy. There were many highs and lows, and several times when I was completely drained, physically and emotionally. At times, it felt like I was being thrown into an iced-over pond in the dead of winter. I was entirely out of my comfort zone, scrambling to adapt, and had no choice but to find a way through. I learned an incredible amount about myself – where my limits were, what my real strengths were, and how and when to ask for help. All of this shaped my self-awareness and confidence profoundly.
In the end, it wasn’t just about the numbers. Of course, they matter, but for me, success was about gaining that inner confidence and self-security. That’s what ultimately led me to the position I’m in today. Three or four years ago, I wouldn’t have had the courage to take on what I do now.
2. Career Path: What initially brought you to this specific career path, and how did it lead to your role in this company?
I initially planned to start my career in HR, but when that opportunity wasn’t available, I took a sales trainee role at a small U.S.-based software company. Very quickly, I realized that sales came naturally to me; it never felt like work. I enjoyed building relationships, organizing demos and events, and ultimately selling software and delivering value to organizations – both big and small. I discovered my strengths, and after about six months in inside sales, I took on greater responsibility by moving into account management, working with large, strategic enterprise customers across Europe.
I later stepped into a management role within a large organization, which gave me valuable experience, but it also clarified what I was missing. I wanted to do more than deliver numbers; I wanted to actively influence how those results were achieved and have a direct impact on strategy. And that’s what drew me to Galorath.
Galorath stood out to me as a company with a genuine commitment to international expansion. They weren’t just opening a regional sales office with a quarterly quota, investing in building something meaningful and sustainable across international market.
Having ownership, influence, and the ability to shape strategy in a critical market is essential for me. At Galorath, my KPIs truly matter; they drive change, growth, and impact within the industry. I value the trust and commitment of the executive team, and I’m excited for this opportunity to help build the business and leave a lasting footprint.
3. Company Differentiation: What makes your company stand out from competitors in the market? Can you share an example that highlights this?
What truly sets Galorath apart is the unique value we bring to our customers and our evolution from estimation pioneers to innovators in AI-‑driven platforms. It’s not only the company’s long-standing industry expertise, but also where Galorath is headed.
For more than 46 years, Galorath has specialized in cost, schedule, and risk estimation across complex, mission-critical programs. Galorath’s teams have a precise understanding of multifaceted processes, advanced technologies, and program dynamics, which allows us to deliver highly accurate, defensible estimates across aerospace, defense, automotive, IT, and manufacturing programs. Over the past three years, the company has made significant investments in estimation‑centric artificial intelligence, applying these innovations to enhance accuracy, speed, and insight across our analyses. This focus on AI-driven estimation is a key differentiator in today’s market
Furthermore, we’re expanding our proven methodologies and AI capabilities beyond core sectors into areas such as automotive and shipbuilding, while continuing to grow our international presence across the EMEA and ‑Asia Pacific regions. This combination of deep industry specialization, continuous innovation, and successful expansion into new verticals and global markets sets us apart
4. Product Innovation: Are you working on any exciting new products or projects? How do you think this innovation will positively impact your customers?
The foundation of Galorath is grounded, but as the world changes, we need to adapt alongside it. The team at Galorath has leaned into this over the past few years, evolving beyond traditional cost estimation tools to deliver a truly AI-powered operational intelligence platform.
Galorath’s trusted SEER® technology still sits at the core, providing the trusted historical and operational data for complex program modeling. But now, with SEERai™, the first agentic artificial intelligence platform purpose-built for cost, schedule, and risk estimation in high-accountability industries, Galorath has added an intelligent orchestration layer that brings it all together – and faster than ever before.
SEERai combines AI precision with human expertise to deliver estimation intelligence that organizations can trust and auditors can verify. With SEERai, teams can plan scenarios in real time, streamline workflows, and connect data across the entire project lifecycle – cutting analysis cycles to hours and preserving human oversight with complete data traceability. In a volatile global market, three things matter most: speed to market, accuracy, and profitability. SEERai helps organizations deliver all three.
In the end, our goal is to help customers make faster, informed, and defensible decisions so even their most complex programs move forward with confidence. Operating as a stand-alone solution or integrated with Galorath’s SEER suite, SEERai helps them achieve this by connecting the advantages of AI reasoning directly to Galorath’s validated cost and schedule models.
5. Success Insight: What was the tipping point for your company’s recent success? Was there a change in strategy or approach that others might learn from?
A recent tipping point in success has been the shift in where we focus and how we think about ourselves as a company. On one hand, Galorath has been very intentional about geo- and market diversification. Historically, Galorath was heavily focused on the U.S. and primarily in the aerospace and defense sectors. We have expanded beyond that – both geographically and into new sectors – so we’re not reliant on a single market or industry. This shift has opened new opportunities and made Galorath more resilient.
At the same time, we’ve started to reframe Galorath as a 46-year-old disruptive startup. We’re keeping the depth and credibility that comes from decades of experience, but we’re actively rejecting the status quo in how we operate and innovate. That means bringing in leaders who challenge existing assumptions and who aren’t afraid to take risks. As a new member of the team, I’m proud to play a part in helping push this evolution forward.
If there’s a key learning others can take from this, it’s that real growth happens when a company builds on its core strengths, accepts opportunities outside its comfort zone, and empowers people who aren’t afraid to push boundaries and drive change.
6. Challenges and Lessons: Can you share a significant challenge your company faced and how you overcame it? What key lesson did that experience provide?
One of Galorath’s most significant challenges, and ultimately its recent turning point, came from recognizing that decades of experience alone aren’t enough to fuel future growth. After nearly 50 years of success, the company made a conscious decision not to rest solely on its legacy but to embrace innovation and reinvent itself.
When I think about the lesson that experience provided, I’d say Galorath learned early on, before my arrival, that no organization knows everything, regardless of how many years of experience it has. It’s the company’s willingness to keep learning, to challenge its own assumptions, and to adapt to a constantly changing economy that has allowed Galorath to remain both innovative and relevant for nearly five decades.
This is the exact outlook that caught my attention at Galorath. Many established organizations struggle to evolve, but Galorath chose to embrace change, exploring new markets, adopting AI-driven solutions, and expanding into new verticals like automotive and global regions. It’s a bold move, and exactly the kind of greenfield opportunity I wanted to be part of to help build, not just manage.
7. Leadership Impact: In just a few words, what differentiates your leadership role from others in the company? What impact does this have on company culture or product success?
What makes my leadership approach a bit different at Galorath is that I see my role as both a catalyst for change and a connector for people. From the very beginning, I was brought on to be a mover and shaker – someone who would help drive transformation, expand our reach into new markets, and challenge how we think as an organization. And that is precisely the kind of environment where I thrive.
My experience and how I have adapted to each position have made me a better leader. I believe deeply in empathetic leadership. As someone who has faced many career challenges, I understand the effort that goes into every project and empathize with what others are going through. For me, that means creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to take ownership of their work. Titles are secondary in my opinion. What matters most is accountability and the sense of responsibility each person brings to the end goal. I want each member of my team to take ownership of their part in the bigger picture and feel their contributions are directly helping to drive our collective success.
I also take great pride in being part of a company that values diversity and inclusion. As one of the senior female leaders here, I’ve seen firsthand how Galorath is committed to bringing in the best people, regardless of gender or background, and how this makes us stronger as an organization.
Ultimately, I think the impact of my leadership comes from balancing my drive with empathy. I push myself and others to go beyond what’s comfortable, while making sure we do so together with respect, purpose, and accountability. While I’m still relatively new to Galorath, I believe my approach and mindset will play an essential role in strengthening the diversity and innovation that keep Galorath moving ahead.
Learn more about leading the international sales for Galorath and how Julia Gerth is driving AI-powered estimation and global business growth.
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