October 9, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
While Jeffrey S. Raikes has been at his current job just a short time, the new chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “is putting his stamp on the culture” of the organization, writes Patricia Sellers, editor-at-large for Fortune magazine.
On her blog for the publication, Postcards from the Pinnacles of Power, she writes that in “sessions with employees, he’s been talking about his 10 values and how he works them into his life and career. Value No. 1: work ethic. He grew up on a Nebraska corn farm, so it was up early and work hard.”
The other values include passion, diversity, humor, devotion to community, and conservative spending.
“He’s plainspoken, bordering on folksy, but the style seems to work with a foundation staff that’s all about saving the world,” writes Ms. Sellers, who says she got to know Mr. Raikes and his wife while writing a profile of Melinda Gates.
Despite her insight into the chief executive of America’s largest philanthropy, Ms. Sellers’s laudatory tone drew jeers from the anonymous author of Gates Keepers, a blog that is critical of the foundation.
“Here is a postcard fluff piece on Raikes, including bullet points on the values he says he lives by to illustrate how good he is. Actions will speak louder than words. Is ‘conservative spending’ a positive value at the foundation?” the writer asks.
(Read The Chronicle’s article about Mr. Raikes.)
What do you think? What questions do you have for Mr. Raikes? What will you look for to see if his tenure at the foundation is successful?
