Bylaws for the new board of trustees slated to oversee the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation suggest that co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates will retain ultimate power over decision-making at the organization. Still, a separate agreement negotiated as part of the pair’s divorce means French Gates could leave the foundation after a two-year trial period, potentially upending the board’s structure.
Devex spoke with several philanthropy experts about what the introduction of an independent board could mean for the Gates Foundation and how members might engage with its co-founders, who are no longer legally bound to each other by marriage but remain connected — and committed, they say — to the organization’s mission.
The Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that it would bring on four new board members: Zimbabwean billionaire and philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa, London School of Economics Director Minouche Shafik, philanthropic advisory firm The Bridgespan Group’s co-founder and co-chair Thomas J. Tierney, and Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman.