A Chancellor at the University of California in San Francisco has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The New York Times reported that Susan Desmond-Hellman will become the new CEO of the Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable organizations in the nation. She will be leaving the University of California, San Francisco, to serve as the first Chief Executive Officer of the foundation that is from outside of Microsoft. Desmond-Hellman will be replacing Jeff Raikes, the current CEO, who announced in September that he would be retiring after five years in the position. Desmond-Hellman is expected to start in her new position in May.
Bill Gates, who is the co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, released a statement about Desmond-Hellman’s appointment. “Sue’s background in public health policy, research and development and higher education make her an exceptional fit for this role. She impressed us as an innovator and an outstanding leader and manager.” She comes to one of the largest charitable organizations on the planet with a deep background in healthcare. Desmond-Hellman was a doctor and a researcher, studying how AIDS is transmitted in Uganda. She also had a private practice in Kentucky.
However, she has even more impressive information on her resume than that, and much of it is very likely the reason that she is being selected for this position. For example, Desmond-Hellman was hired by Genentech in 1995 to study and help to create cancer drugs, one of the most important medical efforts in our world these days. As an oncologist, she was on the staff of the pharmaceutical company and soon was put in charge of all of the clinical trials that they were conducting. “She understands both the developed and developing world,”said professor and UC Chief of Hospital Medicine Robert Wachter. “She has accumulated a set of experiences that make her ideal for this job. She knows science. She knows business. She knows education.”