How Mark Suzman is leading the Gates Foundation through a period of massive spending—and to eventual closure.

BY STEPHANIE MEHTA, CEO AND CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER OF MANSUETO VENTURES, PARENT OF INC. AND FAST COMPANY @STEPHANIEMEHTA

Photos: Gates Foundation, Wikimedia Commons; kolonko/Adobe Stock

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself.

Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman faces a rare leadership challenge: He is managing an organization that has announced its intention to spend $200 billion during the next 20 years—double what the organization dispensed in its first 25 years—while working to permanently close its doors on December 31, 2045.

Suzman, who joined the foundation in 2007 as director of global development policy, advocacy, and special initiatives, and became CEO in 2020, says the finality and scale of his mandate actually provides clarity and

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