SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has selected Jeff Raikes as the next CEO of the foundation. Raikes, former president of the Microsoft Business Division, will assume the role presently held by Patty Stonesifer on Sept. 2, 2008.
"Bill and I considered many extraordinary candidates from around the world during the search for our foundation's new CEO," said Melinda Gates, foundation co-chair. "Jeff brings more than 25 years of experience in the private sector and has earned a reputation as a trusted and respected leader. Equally important, he shares our passion for these issues and for continuing Patty's work to build a great culture at the foundation. Jeff is the right CEO to lead the strategies we have in place to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world."
As president of the Microsoft Business Division, Raikes built a strong team of leaders and transformed the Information Worker business, delivering dramatic growth in the company's business productivity line and nearly doubling revenues to more than $16 billion annually. In January 2008, he announced his retirement from Microsoft and currently serves on the company's leadership team.
"Joining the Gates Foundation is an honor and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to focus on improving the lives of others," said Raikes. "Patty Stonesifer is a remarkable leader who has cultivated equally remarkable leadership at the foundation. I am thrilled to join Bill and Melinda and this team because I'm convinced that through strong partnerships, ambitious goals, and a commitment to impact, we can transform people's lives."
"I've known and admired Jeff for more than 25 years," said foundation co-chair Bill Gates. "He's a smart, independent thinker who's passionate about using innovation to help people change their lives. I'm excited to be working with him again."
The Seattle-based foundation has a $37.3 billion endowment and more than 500 employees. It is organized into three program groups, Global Health, Global Development, and the U.S. Program, each led by a president. Since its inception, the foundation has committed more than $16 billion in grants intended to ensure that all people have the opportunity to live healthy, productive lives.
Raikes has been deeply involved in philanthropy in the Pacific Northwest, focusing particularly on education and children's issues. He co-founded the Raikes Foundation and is an active member of the United Way of King County, where he served as co-chair of the 2006-2007 fundraising campaign—its most successful campaign ever. A native Nebraskan, Raikes is also a trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation.
"Jeff will step into this role at a good time," said Warren Buffett, foundation trustee. "Patty Stonesifer has spent the past 10 years building a broad, highly experienced leadership team and has designed the right approach to accomplishing the foundation's mission. I've known Jeff for years, and we have chosen a leader who embodies the characteristics essential to continuing this work: an extraordinary mind and an uncompromising commitment to getting the job done."
In February 2008, Stonesifer announced her plan to transition from her current position as CEO. She was the foundation's first CEO, joining after a long career in technology that included eight years as a Microsoft executive. The work of the foundation and its partners to date has led to millions of lives saved globally through immunizations and other health advances and more young people in the U.S. graduating high school ready for college and life. Beginning in September, Stonesifer will transition into a new role, still to be defined, at the foundation.
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