Center for Social Innovation

Published: February 05, 2011 Download  58 minutes, 26.7mb, recorded 2010-04-20

Microsoft founder Bill Gates transformed the world through his role in personal computing; now, he is transforming philanthropy, contributing to the betterment of those who live in poverty worldwide. In this audio lecture, Gates challenges Stanford MBA students to take on the world’s difficult problems as a focus of their career or life mission. He tells a bit about his own story, overviews the problems that face us globally, and suggests paths people can take to contribute to solutions. Gates spoke at the 2010 Stanford University commencement ceremony.

William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions for people and businesses. In 2008, he transitioned out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates founded Microsoft, in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Under Gates’s leadership, Microsoft’s mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. He is the author of Business @ the Speed of Thought. Gates also founded Corbis, which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information -- a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe.

Ressources

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Do No Evil, a Stanford Social Innovation Review article
• What Civil Society Needs, a Stanford Social Innovation Review article (subscription required)