William Gates

William Gates General Information

Description

Mr. William Gates is a Co-Founder and serves as Co-Chairman & Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr. Gates is a director of Microsoft Corporation and served as Chairman of the Board from its incorporation in 1981 until February 2014. Mr. Gates is currently a Technology Advisor for Microsoft Corporation and was its Chief Executive Officer from 1981 until January 2000. He also serves as Co-Founder and Chair of the Board at Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Mr. William H. Gates III who has served as a director since 2004 will be retiring from the Board of Directors. In 1975, he founded Microsoft with Paul Allen and led the company to become the worldwide leader in business and personal software and services. More than 20 years later, guided by the belief that every life has equal value, he and his wife, Melinda, established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2008, he transitioned from his daily responsibilities at Microsoft to focus full-time with Melinda on their foundation's work to reduce hunger and poverty globally, harness advances in science and technology to save lives, and improve education in the U.S. Since 2006, he has also served as chairman of TerraPower, a company he helped launch in 2006 that aims to provide the world with a more affordable, secure and environmentally-friendly form of nuclear energy. He is the Owner of Cascade Investment.