Frank Suder graduated with a degree in biology in 1989, going on to complete his doctorate with a focus on behavioural physiology in the field of insect flight control. He first worked as a research assistant at the University of Cologne, thereafter serving as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, subsequently assuming posts as an assistant to the Executive Board of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation – DFG) and as personal assistant to the President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Frank Suder has worked for the Fritz Thyssen Foundation since 1997 and has been its Director since 2014.