Executive Leadership Transitions at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE (July 17, 2014) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced two leadership transitions at its headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

After a decade of service, Martha Choe has decided to step down from the Chief Administrative Officer post, where she has led global operations including Human Resources, Grantee and Partner Engagement, Site Operations, and Security and Library Services.  Joining the foundation in 2004 as the director of the Global Libraries program, Choe is completing a term of leadership that spanned the foundation’s growth to more than 1,200 employees, the construction of its Seattle campus in the heart of the city, and the opening of its Africa and Europe offices.

“We have been incredibly fortunate to have Martha’s visionary leadership through a decade of growth and accelerated impact,” said Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “She has served as an advocate for our work in the Seattle community and beyond, and as a resolute voice for the work of our partners.”

Additionally, Chief Financial Officer Dick Henriques has decided to leave the foundation after four years of leadership.  During his tenure, he improved the process for making and managing grants, pioneered new approaches to measurement and innovative philanthropic investments, and prepared the organization for a series of improvements to financial systems. 

“Dick’s legacy at the foundation extends well beyond the improvements he created in finance. He built a fantastic leadership team that will continue and expand his great work,” said Desmond-Hellmann.

As a result of these transitions, the foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members of the executive leadership team.

Leigh Morgan will assume the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer.  Morgan joins the foundation from the University of California, San Francisco, where she served as the Associate Chancellor accountable for a broad portfolio including sustainability, governance, business process improvement, and initiatives related to improving organizational effectiveness.  Prior to UCSF, Morgan was the Vice President and Global Head of Human Resources for the global Product Development organization at Genentech.

Jim Bromley, currently the foundation’s Managing Director, Financial Planning and Global Programs Operations, was announced as the new Chief Financial Officer.  Bromley has held a variety of roles within the foundation’s finance and program operations teams and prior to joining the foundation in 2008 served as a consultant and the Executive Vice President and President of Nordstrom Inc. Catalog and Internet Divisions.

Transition for all four leaders will begin immediately and continue through late September.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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