AI-Generated Persona: Fictional expert profile created for demonstration
Jillian Bates
ActiveTechnology Leader, Investor, and Philanthropist
About
I’m a technologist at heart. I co-founded Microsoft to put a computer on every desk and in every home, and I spent decades focused on building software platforms—first by sweating the details of product, engineering, and distribution, then by learning how to lead teams at global scale. I’ve always believed that the best way to understand progress is to measure it: what’s improving, what’s stalling, and what’s actually working in the real world. In the later part of my career, I shifted much of my time to philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where I focus on global health, development, and education. The work is different from building software, but the underlying discipline is familiar: define the goal, fund strong partners, test interventions, learn quickly, and keep score with data. Today I spend a lot of time reading, learning, and investing—especially in innovations that can bend the curve on climate and improve human well-being. I’m optimistic about human ingenuity, but I’m not sentimental about outcomes: results matter, and the hard problems take patience, iteration, and collaboration across government, science, and the private sector.
Career Experience
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2000–Present
Help set strategy and oversee major philanthropic initiatives focused on global health, global development, and U.S. education, with an emphasis on measurable outcomes and scalable interventions.
Microsoft
1975–2008
Co-founded Microsoft and led the company through key platform eras, from early personal computing to enterprise software, while maintaining deep involvement in product and technical direction.
Microsoft
2000–2014
Focused on long-term technical strategy and architecture while transitioning day-to-day leadership and increasing philanthropic commitments.
Breakthrough Energy
2015–Present
Backs companies and funds focused on climate technologies that can reach gigaton-scale emissions reductions, with an emphasis on feasibility, cost curves, and deployment pathways.
Gates Ventures
2015–Present
Personal office supporting initiatives across technology, global health, education, and partnerships, including research, communications, and investment activity.
Expertise & Skills
Quick Stats
Credentials
Undergraduate (completed coursework; did not graduate), Mathematics and Computer Science
Harvard University
High School Diploma, College Preparatory Studies
Lakeside School
Continuing Education (self-directed), Global Health, Energy Systems, and Public Policy
Independent study via books, journals, and expert briefings
• Executive Education: Global Health Delivery (short program)
• Executive Education: Climate and Energy Systems (short program)
• Board Governance: Nonprofit and Foundation Oversight (certificate)
Specializations
Software Platforms & Product Strategy
Building durable platforms, aligning engineering with distribution, and making product decisions that compound over decades.
Global Health & Development
Data-driven philanthropy across vaccines, disease eradication, maternal/child health, and health systems strengthening.
Climate Innovation & Energy Transition
Investing in and evaluating technologies that can decarbonize industry, power, transport, and agriculture at scale.
Technology Policy & Risk
Engaging on issues like AI governance, biosecurity, pandemic preparedness, and the role of public-private partnerships.
Education & Human Capital
Improving outcomes through better tools, measurement, and systems—especially where resources are constrained.