Choosing a New CEO to Lead the Nation’s Biggest Foundation: Advice to Bill and Melinda Gates From Experts

“They’ll need another extraordinary leader like Patty who has a very close relationship with Bill

and Melinda and can represent them internally and externally; has a sophisticated understanding of how global sectors evolve and the role that philanthropy can play in promoting equity; has enormous capacity for mountains of data, grueling travel, and saying ‘no’ 100,000 times a year; and is humble enough not to confuse him- or herself with the checkbook.”

— Tom Vander Ark, president of the X Prize Foundation, in Santa Monica, Calif., and former director of the Gates foundation’s education program

“The new leader will need extraordinary vision to understand how foundations can best make change happen and help further develop the Gates foundation’s theories of change.

What’s more, the new chief executive must be a true globalist, with some proven experience operating in the developing world — such that he or she will have a personal reality check to link the foundation’s activities to real change. This leader must also have an established network of advisers to assist in evaluating the foundation’s strategic vision as it evolves in the coming years. He or she must be able to provide executive leadership but also not micromanage across the foundation’s technical areas. At the same time, the new head must work seamlessly with the foundation’s two brilliant principals and serve as a powerful go-between with senior staff.”

— Seth Berkley, president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, a New York charity that has received grants from the Gates foundation

“A variety of experiences might be useful, and the determinants of effectiveness are murky. Clearly, they want someone who is familiar with public policy, equipped with a wide-ranging set of contacts and a working familiarity with the key challenges they’re addressing, and able to recognize the import of the Gates foundation’s bully pulpit.”

— Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington

“Patty has done a wonderful job and she will be a hard act to follow. To my mind, the next foundation leader will need trifocal skills: experience with the nonprofit and governmental sectors on the ground, with internal organizational management, and with trustee relations. All of that with humility and humor would be ideal.”

— Susan V. Berresford, former president of the Ford Foundation, in New York

“The next leader will need to be a strong manager, who has experience and comfort with managing change. She or he does not necessarily need to be an expert in a specific field, but has to be comfortable managing high-level talent and able to represent the cross section of the foundation’s work. As the organization continues to grow it will also be important to have someone who can be inspirational and is able to maintain the sense of passion and commitment to the values that are core to the foundation’s mission. It is a global organization, so it is less important what part of the world the person comes from, but more that she or he thinks globally.”

— Helene D. Gayle, president of CARE, in Atlanta, and former director of the Gates foundation’s HIV, tuberculosis, and reproductive-health program

“Success for the next leader of the Gates foundation will require a relentless focus on assessing and improving performance in pursuit of positive impact. It will also require a recognition of the dangers of becoming isolated from critical feedback when surrounded by those who are naturally disinclined to be critical — because they are grantees or aspiring grantees. Patty understood those dangers well. She saw the risk of making poor decisions within that bubble and took steps to institutionalize feedback loops that preserved confidentiality, and publicly committed the foundation to improvements based on what was learned.

Regardless of the background of Patty’s successor, one of the immediate challenges will be to ensure that staff members are aligned, motivated, and inspired in the wake of what has been a period of tremendous change within the organization. Patty’s departure comes after a number of reorganizations in a short period of time, and the staff must feel whipsawed by it all. So Patty’s successor will have a challenge in orienting the staff to the goals, strategies, and performance measures and ensuring that each individual at the foundation understands how their role connects to the foundation’s ultimate impact.”

— Phil Buchanan, president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, in Cambridge, Mass.