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Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

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Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#11

Post by danielhlockard »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

Likely because of the work the Gates foundation has done on infectious disease across the world.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#12

Post by vikramkr »

jayzalowitz wrote: post #4

With Gates' departure, the Board will consist of 12 members, including John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent chair; Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock Partners; Hugh Johnston, vice chairman and chief financial officer of PepsiCo; Teri L. List-Stoll, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gap, Inc.; Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft; Sandra E. Peterson, operating partner, Clayton, D…

I mean, it is pretty diverse for a corporate board. About a third women, couple people of color including the CEO and chairman. That's well ahead of the curve.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#13

Post by usepgp »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

Not sure he'd be the most qualified, but he seems like a person who take advice from knowledgeable people well and has the experience and current position of leadership to take advantage of it. He also lives right near a huge local outbreak, and so has obvious personal incentive to make sure that it gets cleaned up ASAP.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#14

Post by EGreg »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

I think it has to do with the amount of jazz music he has performed over the years.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#15

Post by prox »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

Maybe not the (emphasis) but his foundation is doing a tremendous amount of work in medicine and disease. He has a lot of knowledge, experience and contacts to set something up.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#16

Post by thinkingkong »

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Also stepped down from the Berkshire board as well. Given that he stepped away from a day to day role in 2008 and then stepped down as the chairman in 2014, I'm guessing he's focusing on his foundation. He's still the 8th largest shareholder according to Bloomberg's records(103,000,000 share), which is pretty impressive given that the 7 entities above him are all funds. Incase you wanted to know who the remaining 12…

Whats the advantage or strategy behind having someone from Marriott?

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#17

Post by darawk »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

Because he's been managing large scale responses to infectious diseases via his foundation for a decade or so now.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#19

Post by downerending »

robertfw wrote: post #9
dcolkitt wrote: post #7

The optimist in me wants to believe that this means he's about to be appointed as the head of the national coronavirus response. There's probably no better qualified person in the world to manage the coordinated effort.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

During a local non-profit board election I once voted in, one of the candidates' position statements was a single sentence: I may not have a lot skills, but I'm really good at writing checks.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#20

Post by daxfohl »

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Also stepped down from the Berkshire board as well. Given that he stepped away from a day to day role in 2008 and then stepped down as the chairman in 2014, I'm guessing he's focusing on his foundation. He's still the 8th largest shareholder according to Bloomberg's records(103,000,000 share), which is pretty impressive given that the 7 entities above him are all funds. Incase you wanted to know who the remaining 12…

Kind of odd, being an employee there, I've never heard of eleven of the twelve board members before.
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