as featured in Gatesto the CityTHE ONCE-RECLUSIVE GATES FOUNDATION GETS A NEW HOME AND MAKES A LARGER IMPACT ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND ECONOMY. By Sally James Photograph by Lara Swimmer SB SEPTEMBER 2010 Reprinted with permission of Seattle Business Magazine. ©2010, all rights reserved. Any reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. For reprints call 612.787.3148. Reprinted with permission of Seattle Business Magazine. ©2010, all rights reserved. Any reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. For reprints call 612.787.3148. he new headquarters of the Bill “There's an opportunity To puT our & Melinda Gates Foundation does shoulder To The wheel and grow the Tnot trumpet its own importance. And the low-slung buildings that sweep awareness of our city and be giant arms near the foot of the Space The besT.” —Bob Aylward, executive vice president for Needle don’t reveal the intensity and dynamism of the largest private founda- business operations, Seattle Mariners tion in the world. But the sheer size of the campus—it cov- quence, the foundation’s astronomic lev- and experts will convene in these confer- ers several blocks—the innovative sustain- els of donation and collaboration already ence rooms to discuss wiping out malaria able design and its strategic position in the carry the city along in its wake, lifting other or inequality for women, and to make heart of the city hint at the foundation’s philanthropies and researchers and some decisions that will resonate for decades. importance to the region. The foundation profitable companies to new heights. The The new headquarters will help to enrich drives new thinking about global problems vastness of its mission is matched by the the fabric of Seattle’s civic life. Foundation from health care and education to agricul- scope of its reach. It influences politics and staff, who may number about 1,200 by the ture and finance. With an annual $3 billion policy on every continent. time the doors open, are a talent pool of al- budget that rivals that of some nations, it The approach has already had impor- truistic and dedicated high achievers, hand- allies with governments, billionaires, uni- tant local outcomes, leading to the estab- picked from among the brightest minds in versities and international organizations lishment, for example, of new institutions the country. with the brave goals of eliminating disease, such as the Institute for Health Metrics and Many are already active in the community. reducing poverty, tackling gender inequal- Evaluation, which is affiliated with the Uni- Jeff Raikes, the CEO of the Gates Founda- ity and improving literacy. versity of Washington. The IHME is gov- tion, is the former president of Microsoft’s When the campus opens in spring 2011 erned by an international board, including Business Division and he co-chaired with his —at a cost of $500 million for just the first leaders from many continents, and aims to wife the annual giving campaign for United phase of construction—it will tie Seattle to help measure progress around the world to- Way of King County in 2006. But with the these global ambitions. Just as Microsoft ward global health. new campus, many more staff members permanently branded Seattle as a software This campus also marks a major new may choose roles in the city’s schools, the- city, the foundation may make the city syn- commitment to this city, and will unveil aters, charities and other causes. onymous with global health and develop- a new stage for events. The foundation In a similar way, the campus may also draw ment. Many leaders certainly hope so. chose local architect Steve McConnell at the foundation more deeply into transporta- While it may be an unintended conse- NBBJ to build its home. World leaders tion and other civic disputes. Several of the loudest city arguments of recent years are as- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has sociated with the financially struggling Seattle mostly shunned the spotlight even as it grew Center, which needs renovation, and trans- into a giant of global philanthropy. portation projects such as the Highway 99 viaduct and the redesign of Mercer Street. Whatever happens, these modest build- ings and central courtyards will become the iconic symbol for this family foundation that once labored quietly in the background and shunned the spotlight. J B B N An Economic Boost AS SLow JOB growth lingers, city lead- ers see the global health sector—including both nonprofit organizations and for-profit ELINDA GATES FOUNDATION M businesses—as a remarkably healthy strate- gic part of the city’s economy. Those leaders seek to capitalize on Seattle’s image as a place that knows how to do busi- ness in overseas markets. Here is a place with thousands of sophisticated workers who don’t bat an eyelash phoning Beijing or Burkina Faso. Beyond the purely economic desires for jobs or investment, some city leaders see COURTESY OF THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION/ IMAGE COURTESY OF THE BILL & an opportunity to embrace altruism itself. SB SEPTEMBER 2010 Reprinted with permission of Seattle Business Magazine. ©2010, all rights reserved. Any reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. For reprints call 612.787.3148. The new headquarters campus for the Gates Foundation reflects its influence and emerging role in Seattle’s civic life. Bob Aylward, who is executive vice presi- open to the whole world is a lure, he says. dent for business operations for the Seattle The Gates campus could become “an icon GATES FOUNDATION FACTS Mariners baseball team, has become a pas- like the Space Needle for global health,” Ri- CO-CHAIRS: Bill Gates, Melinda French sionate cheerleader of Seattle’s brand as an vera adds. Just as many satellite and spinoff Gates, William H. Gates Sr. epicenter for global health and development. companies grew up around the Microsoft CEO: Jeff Raikes He views promoting that brand as good for campus in Redmond, he imagines similar TRUSTEE: Warren Buffett the region and the world, even though he satellites orbiting the Gates campus. Already, ENDOWMENT: $35.2 billion acknowledges it sounds a bit “holier than there are a number of global health organi- (as of March 31, 2010) thou.” Aylward is one of a handful of lead- zations, from PATH to Seattle Biomed, 2009 GRANT PAYMENTS: $3 billion ers who have joined a project to link the located in the same South Lake Union TOtaL GRANT COMMITMENTS TO Date: global health sector to the 50th-anniversary neighborhood. Many work closely with the $22 billion celebration of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair foundation. Some receive substantial sup- HEADQUARTERS: Seattle in 2012. The group hopes to lure important port. PATH, which recently moved into of- OtHER OFFICES: Washington, D.C., New Delhi, Beijing, London global health conferences to the region and fices a stone’s throw away, has received, over to develop other activities that focus local the years, more than $1 billion from the and national attention on the Northwest’s Gates Foundation. plus an additional 43,000 jobs supported many strengths. Besides the obvious influences of payrolls, indirectly by the industry. “There’s an opportunity to put our it is tricky to calculate the impact of the Governor Chris Gregoire also has rec- shoulder to the wheel and grow the aware- foundation’s growing presence. Sometimes, ognized the importance of the industry to ness of our city and be the best,” he says. the ripples it makes help research that swells Washington state, pointing out at a recent His committee, Global Health Nexus, the ranks of other health and life science or- symposium sponsored by the Washington J is working in concert with the Washing- ganizations. Global Health Alliance that improvements B B N ton Global Health Alliance, an advocacy Too, an individual may be a big influence. in global health create better conditions for organization designed to help its members One example is Dr. David Fleming, who trade. “Our success depends on the health collaborate on projects and goals. Building came to the foundation to work and later of our trading partners,” she said. a regional brand around global health, he became the Seattle-King County director At a recent forum sponsored by the says, could attract talent and capital. of public health. Fleming is working with WBBA, the Global Health Nexus and the “A lot of big companies are formally Swedish Medical Center on a project to city, one businesswoman was delighted creating global health divisions within the bring some ideas from the global arena back to hand out her cards and hope for new company,” says Chris Rivera, director of the down to gritty local problems for under- clients. Debbie Read, owner of Erg- Washington Biomedical & Biotechnology served populations in south King County. oFit Consulting, has just two employees Association (WBBA). Getting these giants A 2007 analysis titled “Economic Impact including herself. But she’s ready to grow. to put an office here could bring jobs and Assessment of Global Health on Washing- She advises biomedical companies on investment. While they may operate mostly ton State’s Economy,” written by a team worker safety and comfort, and hopes to in the for-profit world, they might expand at the University of Washington, counted find more employees in the South Lake in places like India and China, the so-called about 14,000 direct jobs in global health, Union neighborhood. COURTESY OF THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION/ emerging markets. Seattle’s brand as a place with an average annual salary of $56,000, One company that straddles the profit Reprinted with permission of Seattle Business Magazine.