Mark Suzman
 Mark Suzman    | ||||||||||||
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| Born | South Africa | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | • Balliol College (Oxford) • Harvard | |||||||||||
| Member of | Council on Foreign Relations/Members 3, Rhodes Scholar/1991 | |||||||||||
Became CEO of the Gates Foundation in February 2020.
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Mark Suzman became CEO of the Gates Foundation in February 2020.[1]
Education
Suzmanholds a doctorate in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.[2]
Career
He began his career in journalism, writing for the Johannesburg Star and then the Financial Times in Johannesburg, London and Washington DC., where he covered international trade policy, welfare reform, and political issues, including the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela. In 2000, Suzman joined the United Nations, where he was part of the effort to implement the Millennium Development Goals under the leadership of then Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He held multiple positions at the UN over his six-year tenure, including 2005-2007 senior advisor for policy and strategic communications in the Office of the Secretary General, and policy director in the Office of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program.[2]
Suzman joined the Gates foundation in 2007 as director of Global Development Policy, Advocacy, and Special Initiatives. He then was managing director of Country Offices, president of Global Policy and Advocacy, and chief strategy officer. In these roles, he built and oversaw the development of the foundation's offices in India, China, Africa, and Europe, and managed the foundation's relationships with government, private philanthropists, and civil society. He also implemented a new system for how the foundation measures impact and manages tradeoffs across its strategic priorities.[2]
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Security Conference/2018 | 12 February 2018 | 14 February 2018 | Germany Munich Bavaria | The 54th Munich Security Conference |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2012 | 25 January 2012 | 29 January 2012 | Switzerland WEF | 2113 guests in Davos |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2013 | 23 January 2013 | 27 January 2013 | Switzerland WEF | 2500 mostly unelected leaders met to discuss "leading through adversity" |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2016 | 20 January 2016 | 23 January 2016 | Switzerland WEF | Attended by over 2500 people, both leaders and followers, who were explained how the Fourth Industrial Revolution would changed everything, including being a "revolution of values". |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2017 | 17 January 2017 | 20 January 2017 | Switzerland WEF | 2952 known participants, including prominently Bill Gates. "Offers a platform for the most effective and engaged leaders to achieve common goals for greater societal leadership." |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2019 | 22 January 2019 | 25 January 2019 | Switzerland WEF | "The reality is that we are in a Cold War [against China] that threatens to turn into a hot one." |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2023 | 16 January 2023 | 20 January 2023 | Switzerland WEF | The theme of the meeting was "Cooperation in a Fragmented World" |
