No former Microsoft executives were named to the board, even though two of the foundation’s past chief executives came from the software company (as did Ms. French Gates and, of course, Mr. Gates).
There are other signs of a slight loosening of the grip of the founders. Mr. Suzman wrote the organization’s 2022 annual letter, a document that Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates had both signed in previous years. The letter — seen as the most prominent articulation of why and how the foundation was spending money — was once a bone of contention in their marriage. Ms. French Gates shared a story of fighting the prospect of her husband’s writing the letter alone in her 2019 book, “Moment of Lift.” Now both have bowed out.
Relatives of members are prohibited from serving on the board, with a carve-out for “a child of the marriage of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates,” according to the new board governing principles. That suggests that one of the three Gates children, who range in age from 19 to 25, may someday join. The eldest, Jennifer Gates, recently married and is a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
Board members will serve three-year terms, with a limit of two terms. Their work is unpaid. The board will meet three times a year, approve the annual budget and assess the chief executive’s performance and pay.
Changes to the structure were seen as necessary with just two trustees remaining after Mr. Buffett’s departure, but in practice little may change. Decisions still require both Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates to support them, in essence handing them veto power. The new board will also have no control over the endowment, which is held in a separate trust.
In the interview, Mr. Suzman acknowledged the personal context for these big public changes: the divorce. “Clearly they’re not having the same kind of private discussions at home that they used to have, but our formal structures of the foundation and our decision making is working very effectively,” he said.
But they are still the co-chairs, Mr. Suzman said, emphasizing what remains constant: “I want to be unequivocal. We remain a family foundation.”
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