Peter Hoever received a PhD in Physics from the University of Cologne. He joined Bayer in 1982, where he built up a Computational Chemistry group for Bayer's research activities. In the early 1990s, Peter shifted more to IT-related topics and held various positions within Bayer's Information Systems. In 2000, after a few years of co-ordinating global information technology within the pharmaceutical business division, he became head of the organisation within Information Systems providing support and services to Bayer's research and development units.
Starting during the mid-1990s, an increasing focus was on gaining added value from web technologies. Major activities included building up and marketing intranet structures, converting information systems and services to the web as well as using the web for internal and external collaborations.