The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the appointment of Indian philanthropist Ashish Dhawan, founder and CEO of Convergence Foundation, to its board of trustees.
Dr Helene D Gayle, president of Spelman College, US, has also been appointed to the foundation’s board of trustees.
The new board members will serve alongside Strive Masiyiwa, Baroness Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, Thomas J Tierney, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, and co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, a statement said.
In addition to being CEO of the Convergence Foundation, which is focused on accelerating India’s economic growth and development, Dhawan is also the chairperson of Ashoka University and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit organisation working to improve the quality of education for children in India. He is based out of New Delhi.
The Gates Foundation has been working in collaboration with the Indian government and other partners since 2003 on various issues, including health care, sanitation, gender equality, agricultural development, and financial empowerment.
“The foundation has made exemplary contributions to India’s development over the last 15 years, and I am pleased to join the board,” said Dhawan.
“I hope to contribute to its strategy on economic growth, equality of opportunity, and sustainability, and look forward to learning from and contributing to its education efforts across the world, particularly in Africa,” he said.
Gayle is a Gates Foundation alumna, and both new board members have worked with foundation grantees focused on saving lives and creating opportunities across health, education, and economic prosperity.
Prior to becoming president of Spelman College, Gayle was president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the United States’ oldest and largest community foundations.
“Over two decades as a foundation, we’ve learned that the best ideas emerge when we invite people with diverse perspectives to the table,” said Melinda Gates.
“Today’s announcement is another important step in strengthening the foundation’s governance and deepening our commitment to the work. We’ve learned so much from Helene and Ashish through our work together over the years, and we’re lucky they have agreed to join us as colleagues on the board.”
The new board members’ experiences and backgrounds expand the technical, geographic, and gender diversity on the board, and will help the foundation deepen engagement with partners and communities where the foundation’s work is focused.
“At a moment of great need and opportunity across global health and development, Helene and Ashish bring unique ways of thinking that will help us see things we don’t,” said Bill Gates.
“They have been great partners to the foundation in our pursuit of a world where everyone can live a healthy, productive life. As we step up our spending and commit to do even more to confront the challenges ahead, we can draw from the board’s expertise to make an even bigger, more equitable impact.”
In response to overlapping crises that threaten two decades of progress in health, development, and economic opportunity, the foundation recently announced that it will increase its payout by 50 per cent over pre-pandemic levels to USD 9 billion annually by 2026.
The board will play a critical role in shaping the foundation’s future direction and advising the evolution of its transformational strategies, programs, and partnerships to meet the increased payout and sustain long-term impact, the statement said.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Helene and Ashish to the board and look forward to working together in this new capacity,” said Mark Suzman.
“I’m excited to learn from their broad experiences and am eager to draw from their insights as we aim to strengthen and diversify our work and partnerships in service of a better, fairer world for all,” Suzman said.
