Gates Foundation makes another management change

The world's largest charitable foundation is going through another major management shift this week, but the arrival of a new CEO comes with much less fanfare than Bill Gates' own transition away from full-time work at Microsoft Corp.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has dropped a cone of silence over its new CEO, former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes, denying requests for media interviews in order to give him 100 days of solitude to focus on his new job.

But Raikes, who starts at the foundation Tuesday, shared his perspective about the new position in several recent interviews with The Associated Press.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the Gates Foundation," Raikes said. "This is truly a dream job."

Raikes, 50, will be the foundation's second leader since its inception in 1997. He has much in common with outgoing CEO Patty Stonesifer, another former Microsoft executive and friend of Bill and Melinda Gates.

In July, Bill Gates stepped away from his daily duties at the software company he co-founded to focus on the work of his $38 billion foundation. His wife, Melinda, also has stepped up her time commitment to the foundation.

Raikes expects some of the biggest challenges of his job will be learning enough to get up to speed as quickly as possible, and managing the foundation's rapid growth.

The foundation could add as many as 200 new employees to its existing staff of nearly 600 in the second half of 2008, Raikes said.

In the past decade, the foundation has given away more than $16 billion, mostly in global health, global development and U.S. education.

It has been ramping up its giving since Warren Buffett, head of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, announced in June 2006 that he would make annual donations of about $1.5 billion to the foundation, with the money to be distributed in the year it is donated.

The breadth of its work seemed a little overwhelming to Raikes at first, with three key program areas and 22 initiatives.

"All have very significant - some would say audacious - goals," he said.

Because of his friendship and working relationship with the Gateses - he's known Bill for 27 years, since starting at Microsoft in 1981 - Raikes learned a lot about the foundation over the years: "I think of myself as a lifelong learner."

Until earlier this year, he was president of Microsoft's business software division, responsible for such things as the Office software suite, Microsoft's server software and applications that help businesses track customers and business processes.

In addition to his years in business management, his volunteer work with various nonprofit organizations focusing on education and children's issues give him many of the skills he will need to the run the foundation.

He and his wife, Tricia, formed the Raikes Foundation in 2002 to support youth development, education and community issues in the Seattle area. He joined other Seattle business leaders in 1992 to purchase the Seattle Mariners baseball club.

While planning for his retirement from Microsoft earlier this year, he became intrigued by the Gates Foundation's efforts to spark a "green revolution" in Africa, and considered getting involved in agribusiness because of his background growing up on a family farm near Omaha.

Then when outgoing Stonesifer announced she was stepping down, Raikes started thinking he might have a less restful retirement.

"The foundation is in very strong shape. Patty has been an excellent leader," Raikes said. "I feel very comfortable coming into this role and building onto the success she's had.

Stonesifer also expressed confidence in Raikes in a recent interview.

"Everything I've seen so far indicates he's going to be fantastic," said Stonesifer, who worked at Microsoft at the same time as Raikes, but never in the same department.

The foundation's first CEO said it has been an honor to be part of the birthing process of the foundation, but she wasn't interested in staying through adolescence and beyond.

"It is a great time actually to be passing on the CEO and Jeff's got the energy and passion and the partnership with Bill and Melinda to really do a fabulous job at it," Stonesifer said.