What will her new role be at the Foundation?

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Gates Foundation's Stonesifer feted
Helped build world's largest charity operation

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
P-I REPORTER

Having worked with dozens of local organizations, William H. Gates Sr. has heard his share of guidelines and strategic missions. He said he dreads long hours spent on those plans. Most of them end up deep in a bottom desk drawer where the well-intentioned pages go unturned.

When Patty Stonesifer joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 1997 and discussed establishing guidelines, the senior Gates was full of skepticism. Though he didn't say it out loud, he knew the drawer he'd probably put them in.

"Lo and behold, they became substantive, palpable guidelines," Gates said Monday at the CityClub anniversary gala, which honored Stonesifer's work.

The 18 guidelines adorned posters near copy machines and break rooms of the Seattle-based foundation. Every other month, the posters would change locations so employees would be reminded of why they were there.

"I think what Patty came up with ... (has) actually changed the personality of the foundation," Gates said of the woman he described as innovative, energetic and conscientious. "Patty has made a real difference."

The former Microsoft executive plans by Jan. 1 to step down as CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she helped to build into the world's largest charitable institution.

The foundation has a $38.7 billion endowment -- nearly four times the size of the next-largest foundation. The institution has spent more than $1 billion locally and another $1 billion on global health issues in Washington, Stonesifer said.

She credited partnerships with the success of the organization, which dispenses more than $3 billion annually, and credited the elite staff of more than 500 people.

Stonesifer, who is on the board of directors for Amazon.com and on the board of regents at the Smithsonian Institution, didn't detail how she'll spend time after she steps down as CEO of the foundation.

She said she'll still have a hand in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, though she'll split time between Washington state and Washington, D.C., with Michael Kinsley, her husband and a Time magazine columnist.

"The truth is, I'm still learning," said Stonesifer, 52. "And if you keep learning, you get better."

Her replacement, Jeff Raikes, a 50-year-old Microsoft executive who helped build the Microsoft Office productivity suite and related programs into a multibillion-dollar product line, takes over in September after 27 years with the company.

"Patty's an incredible leader who I've known for years, and I'm well aware of the amazing contributions she's made," he told the P-I on Monday. "The foundation has a terrific leadership team. My job is to help them succeed in their efforts."

P-I reporter Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com.


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