Melinda French Gates | 2017

Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. As co-chair of the Gates Foundation, she shapes and approves the organization’s strategies and overall direction, reviews results, and works with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world. Through her work at the foundation over more than two decades, Gates has seen firsthand that empowering women and girls can transform the health and prosperity of families, communities, and societies. Her work has led her to focus increasingly on gender equity as a lever for change. In 2015, Gates founded Pivotal Ventures, a company working to accelerate the pace of social progress in the United States.