Foundation Announces New Organization, New Presidents

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Presidents Sylvia Mathews, Tachi Yamada, and Allan Golston

From left to right: Foundation presidents Sylvia Mathews, Tachi Yamada, and Allan Golston

To: Our Partners
From: Patty Stonesifer

Over the past year, we at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have spent a great deal of time thinking about how we can best make progress against our goal of improving people’s lives by reducing inequities around the world. As we enter our second decade, we’re committed to learning, improving, and delivering results.

Today, we announced several organizational changes that have emerged from our planning efforts. In many ways, they are the culmination of a series of organizational improvements we have made over the past few years. We believe these changes will help set the stage for greater impact from our efforts over the next 10 years. In order to position ourselves for the opportunities that lie ahead, Bill, Melinda, Bill Gates Sr., and I have decided to organize our foundation into three program groups—each of which will be led by a president—and an expanded core-operations group led by a chief operating officer. On May 1, 2006, the foundation will be organized under the following four organizational groups:

  •  U.S. Program, to be led by President Allan Golston. Allan has been with the foundation for six years, most recently serving as our chief financial and administrative officer. Before joining the foundation, he worked as a consultant in health care, software, and other fields, helping businesses develop their strategies. Under Allan’s leadership, the U.S. Program will focus on addressing major inequities in the United States. A core component of the U.S. Program is our Education portfolio, which is at an exciting point in its drive to ensure that all American children are ready for college, work, and citizenship. Tom Vander Ark will continue to lead the Education team, operating with an expanded charter that includes the Early Learning initiative we’re working on here in Washington State. The U.S. Program will also include Pacific Northwest giving (community grants and family homelessness), U.S. Libraries, U.S. Program Advocacy, and Special Initiatives. 
  • Global Development Program, to be led by President Sylvia Mathews. Sylvia has been with the foundation since 2001; before joining us, she served for eight years in the Clinton administration, including stints as deputy chief of staff at the White House and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. For the past 16 months, Sylvia has been leading our Strategic Opportunities team, which has been exploring new areas of giving that offer potential to reduce the tremendous inequities associated with extreme poverty. Two of these efforts, Agricultural Development and Financial Services for the Poor, are ready to become portfolios that will implement expanded grantmaking strategies. International Libraries, Global Development Advocacy, and Special Initiatives (including Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) will also be part of the Global Development Program.
  • Global Health Program, to be led by President Tachi Yamada. Tachi will join the foundation June 1. He comes to us with a wealth of experience as a physician, scientist, and business leader, most recently having served as chairman of research and development for the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. The Global Health Program will continue to focus on diseases and health conditions that disproportionately affect the developing world. Its portfolios will include HIV, Tuberculosis, Reproductive Health, and Avahan (our HIV program in India); Global Health Strategies; Infectious Diseases; Global Health Technologies; Global Health Advocacy; and Special Initiatives.
  • Operations, to be led by a new chief operating officer (we have just initiated a search for this position). This team will provide the platform on which we will build our grantmaking programs and will set a standard of operational excellence. Operations includes the following teams: Foundation Advocacy, Legal, Impact Assessment and Improvement, Financial Planning and Analysis, Finance and Administration, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Security. I will lead the Operations team until the new COO is in place.

I will continue as CEO, and of course Bill, Melinda, and Bill Sr. will continue and likely increase their engagement in shaping foundation strategies, reviewing results, and supporting advocacy efforts.

We at the foundation have very ambitious hopes for what we can do in collaboration with our partners to improve lives at home and around the world. I strongly believe that these three amazing people, leading this new organization, will dramatically improve our chances of making those hopes a reality.

Patty Stonesifer