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Leadership

The foundation’s leaders come from a broad range of backgrounds and have a diversity of expertise and experience that spans science and technology, medicine, public policy, education, communications, law, and business. Our leaders are guided by the foundation’s mission to create a world in which every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.

Executive Leadership

  • Mark Suzman

    Mark Suzman

    CEO, Board Member

    Mark Suzman leads the Gates Foundation in advancing its mission to ensure that every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.

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    Salman Ahmed

    President, Global Policy and Advocacy

    Salman leads the foundation’s work in international political and economic affairs, overseeing relationships with governments, intergovernmental organizations, advocates, and philanthropic partners worldwide.

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  • Carolyn Ainslie

    Chief Financial Officer

    Carolyn Ainslie oversees the foundation’s financial planning and management functions—including accounting, financial analysis, investment strategy and processes, risk and assurance, business management, and the Strategic Investment Fund—as well as strategy and planning more generally.

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  • Lauren W. Bright

    Lauren Bright

    Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary

    Lauren W. Bright leads the foundation’s legal team and is responsible for all legal matters and activities pertaining to the foundation and its affiliate organizations.

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  • Christopher J. Elias

    Christopher J. Elias

    President, Global Development

    Dr. Chris Elias leads the foundation’s efforts to strengthen the systems that make health care more accessible, equitable, and effective.

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  • M Hari Menon

    President, Global Growth & Opportunity

    Hari Menon leads the foundation’s Global Growth & Opportunity Division, which includes the Agricultural Development, Digital Public Infrastructure, Global Education, Inclusive Financial Systems, Nutrition, and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene programs.

    View profile: M Hari Menon

  • Trevor Mundel

    President, Global Health

    Trevor Mundel leads the foundation’s efforts to develop high-impact interventions against the leading causes of death and disability in developing countries.

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  • Alex Reid

    Alex Reid

    Chief Communications Officer

    Alex Reid leads communications for the foundation and is responsible for the strategic use of voice to amplify the foundation’s philanthropic role and impact.

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  • Shana Tarbell

    Shana Tarbell

    Chief Operating Officer

    Shana Tarbell is the foundation’s chief operating officer, responsible for driving much of the daily operations that enable the organization’s mission.

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  • Ankur Vora

    Ankur Vora

    Chief Strategy Officer; President, Africa & India Offices

    Ankur Vora oversees the foundation’s work across Africa and India—two regions central to the foundation’s global mission — and leads enterprise-wide strategy, advising the Chair and CEO on priorities, resource allocation, and major tradeoffs across the portfolio.

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  • June Davis

    June Yoshinari Davis

    Chief People Officer

    June Yoshinari Davis leads the foundation’s people-centered strategies across talent, culture, and organizational effectiveness, which includes human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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  • Anita Zaidi

    Anita Zaidi

    President, Gender Equality Division

    Dr. Anita Zaidi oversees efforts to advance gender equality in all of the foundation’s global work.

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Chair and Governing Board

  • Bill Gates

    Bill Gates

    Chair, Board Member

    As chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates shapes and approves foundation strategies, advocates for the foundation’s issues, and sets…

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  • Mark Suzman

    Mark Suzman

    CEO, Board Member

    Mark Suzman leads the Gates Foundation in advancing its mission to ensure that every person has the opportunity to live…

    View profile: Mark Suzman
  • Ashish Dhawan

    Ashish Dhawan

    Board Member

    Ashish Dhawan is the founder and CEO of the Convergence Foundation (TCF), which is focused on accelerating India’s economic growth…

    View profile: Ashish Dhawan
  • Helene Gayle

    Helene Gayle

    Board Member

    Dr. Helene D. Gayle served as president of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

    View profile: Helene Gayle
  • Sri Mulyani Indrawati

    Sri Mulyani Indrawati

    Board Member

    Sri Mulyani Indrawati is one of Indonesia’s longest-serving and first female minister of finance, serving under three democratically elected presidents.

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  • Strive Masiyiwa

    Strive Masiyiwa

    Board Member

    Strive Masiyiwa is a Zimbabwean based in London and an international business leader.

    View profile: Strive Masiyiwa

  • Patrick Methvin

    Interim President, U.S. Program

    Patrick Methvin leads the foundation’s efforts to ensure education works as a pathway to good jobs and upward mobility for…

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  • Minouche Shafik

    Minouche Shafik

    Board Member*

    Baroness Nemat (Minouche) Shafik is a leading economist, whose career spans public policy and academia. She is currently on leave…

    View profile: Minouche Shafik
  • Tom Tierney

    Tom Tierney

    Board Member

    Tom Tierney co-founded The Bridgespan Group, an independent global nonprofit focused on helping philanthropists and nonprofit leaders achieve breakthrough results.

    View profile: Tom Tierney

Scientific Advisory Committee

Our Scientific Advisory Committee comprises a group of esteemed experts from outside of the foundation who offer a wide range of experiences and perspectives. This group plays an important role in strengthening our work by offering independent assessments of our Global Health Division strategies and helping us evaluate results.

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Meet our leaders

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  • Abby Chapin

    Abby Chapin

    Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning, and Management

    Abby Chapin oversees strategic planning and operations for the K-12 Education team.

  • Adam Tucker

    Adam Tucker

    Deputy Director, K-12 Engagement

    Adam Tucker leads a team that works to improve student outcomes and equity by galvanizing a diverse array of stakeholders to codify, refine, and expand models, programs, and tools that can improve K-12 math instruction.

  • Amy Carter

    Amy Carter

    Director, Community Engagement

    Amy Carter is the director of Community Engagement at the Gates Foundation.

  • Angela Jones

    Angela Jones

    Director, Leadership Advising

    Angela Jones provides guidance to foundation leaders on ways to harmonize complementary portfolios across the U.S. Program division.

  • Carrie Douglass

    Carrie Douglass

    Director, Strategy, Planning, and Management; Chief of Staff, Office of the President, U.S. Program

    Carrie McPherson Douglass serves as chief of staff to the president of the U.S. Program Division and leads strategy, planning, and management for the division.

  • Chapin Springer

    Chapin Springer

    Deputy Director, U.S. Program Communications

    Chapin Springer leads the team that communicates and advocates for the foundation’s priorities in education and economic mobility to key audiences. His team also makes grants to build public awareness of critical issues in those areas.

  • Chris Gibbons

    Chris Gibbons

    Deputy Director, U.S. Charters & Multisector Delivery

    Chris Gibbons leads the foundation’s national charter school strategy, which has a particular focus on charter school students with disabilities in Washington State.

  • Chrystie Hill

    Chrystie Hill

    Deputy Director, Leadership Advising

    Chrystie Hill advises the leaders of the U.S. Program on strategy development, implementation, assessment, and communication, with a focus on achieving large-scale impact.

  • Dana DeRuiter

    Dana DeRuiter

    Interim Director, North America, Global Policy & Advocacy Division

    Dana DeRuiter leads the foundation’s government relations, policy advocacy, and communications efforts in North America. Her team is based in Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

Historical Leadership

  • Melinda French Gates

    Melinda French Gates

    Co-chair (2000-2024)

    Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. She founded and co-chaired the Gates…

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  • Warren Buffett

    Warren Buffett

    Trustee 2006-2021 (emeritus 2021)

    Warren Buffett helped shape our vision and developed strategies to address some of the world’s most challenging inequities.

    View profile: Warren Buffett

  • William Gates Sr.

    Co-chair 2000-2020 (d. 2020)

    William H. Gates Sr. (d. 2020) guided the vision and strategic direction of the foundation and served as an advocate…

    View profile: William Gates Sr.

More about the foundation

Our role

For over 25 years, the Gates Foundation has been committed to fighting the greatest inequities in the world.

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How we work

We are focused on results. Those that can be measured. And those measured in ways beyond numbers.

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Our story

Learn about the origins of the foundation and the values that drive our work.

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