Gottlieb Keller studied law and economics at the University of Basel. After obtaining his doctorate, he passed the bar exam and the notary exam in Basel and joined the legal department of F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG in 1984. In 1999, he became Secretary to the Board of Directors of Roche Holding AG and joined the Roche Steering Committee in 2003 as a member of the Steering Committee, initially responsible for Global Human Resources and later for the Legal and Patent Department.

He chaired the Chamber of Commerce Germany-Switzerland, scienceIndustries, Swissholdings and was Vice Chairman of economieSuisse and member of the Board of Directors of Basilea AG.

He retired from Roche in 2020, chaired the Statistische-Volkswirtschaftliche Gesellschaft Basel and is a member of the University Council of the University of Basel and of several foundation boards as well as a recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mabylon AG.