Chief Executive Officer

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Cambridge, MA

time type

Full time

job requisition id

B021565

Job Description:

“We are focused on results. Those that can be measured. And those measured in ways beyond numbers. We see individuals, not issues. We are inspired by passion, and compassion for the wellbeing of people. Our methods are based on logic, driven by rigor, results, issues, and outcomes. Our innovation means trying new things, learning from our mistakes, and consistently refining our approach. Our strategies help us define our path to success, but our effectiveness is based in the aggregate power of our initiatives to impact holistic change.”

 

 -Bill Gates 

 

The Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) is a non-profit biopharmaceutical development organization primarily dedicated to the development of impactful biopharmaceutical interventions for diseases that disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations, diseases that combined cause five deaths every minute.  Headquartered in Cambridge MA, the Institute is designed to advance novel drug, biologics, and vaccine candidates through late-stage development and registration.  The Institute encompasses experienced biopharmaceutical development professionals across regulatory, CMC, and clinical functions as well as comprehensive operational support functions.  The Institute’s programs are managed by its internal teams and functional areas in collaboration, working with partners across the global health ecosystem.

 

The Institute is based on five core “mantras” that are embedded within the organization and its people:

• Urgency: Execute with excellence to maximize impact.

• Collaboration: Establish empowered teams to drive our bottom line: lives saved.

• Innovation: Build on the known, uncover the new, achieve the unprecedented.

• Rigor: Drive the science, focus on the details, and execute with the highest quality.

• Courage: Dare to confront the world’s most significant global health challenges.

 

Though the Institute is a diverse group of passionate change-makers, creative fixers, and relentless advocates, these five core values are universally adopted by all who join it with the personal goal of improving the health and wellness of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

 

As a wholly owned subsidiary and separate legal entity of the Gates Foundation, the Institute partners scientifically, operationally, and financially with the foundation to leverage the foundation’s ongoing support and contributions toward the achievement of global health equity.

 

Your Role

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will lead Gates MRI through a pivotal evolution of its vision, setting a clear strategic direction and ensuring strong alignment with the Gates Foundation and key stakeholders around enterprise priorities.

 

The CEO will advance Gates MRI as a biopharmaceutical development organization focused on translational programs to late-stage development, strengthening its position as a preferred development partner across priority disease area and novel platforms with Program Strategy Teams. This includes building a flexible, high-quality, and cost-effective development organization that accelerates the translation of scientific innovation across key indications into impactful health solutions through a partnership model

 

The role requires a credible, outcomes-oriented leader who combines scientific rigor with enterprise leadership, strengthening the operating model, decision governance, and performance accountability required to deliver high-quality clinical development particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through a network of strategic partners.

 

What You’ll Do

Strategic & Organizational Leadership

• Define and execute the Institute’s long-term strategy as a development organization, aligned with Gates Foundation priorities

• Position Gates MRI as a preferred development partner to internal Program Strategy Teams and external stakeholders in key disease domain areas

• Develop and lead a high-performing executive leadership team while fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence

 

Influential Leadership

• Articulate a compelling vision that connects scientific innovation to global health impact, aligning teams and partners around shared purpose and outcomes

• Navigate ambiguity and drive clarity across a highly matrixed, cross-functional, and globally distributed set of partners

• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and measurable outcomes, while empowering teams to operate with autonomy

 

Portfolio & Operational Leadership

• Lead and evolve a lean, flexible development organization, leveraging a functional service provider (FSP)-based operating model to enable efficient execution

• Oversee a portfolio focused on translational development, with targeted full development programs as strategically required.

• Ensure delivery of high-quality, cost-effective clinical studies, particularly in LMIC settings, anchored through strategic partners

• Ensure scientific rigor, data integrity, and execution excellence across all platform-enabled activities

 

Partnerships & External Engagement

• Build and lead a networked partner ecosystem spanning biopharma, CROs, academia, global health organizations, and in-country institutions

• Establish and maintain strategic relationships that enable Gates MRI to operate as a hub for coordinated development execution

• Structure and oversee partnerships, including co-development and public-private collaborations, aligned with Foundation priorities

 

Board & Foundation Engagement

• Serve as the primary liaison to the Board of Directors and Gates Foundation leadership, ensuring strong alignment with Foundation strategy, governance, and priorities

• Provide clear, data-driven updates on platform performance, portfolio progress, risks, and opportunities

• Support governance, policy development, and long-term planning within the context of the broader Gates ecosystem

 

Financial & Operational Oversight

• Oversee financial strategy, ensuring efficient allocation of resources across a lean, partner-enabled platform model

• Ensure strong operational systems, compliance, and global regulatory adherence

• Maintain organizational effectiveness and sustainability

 

External Representation

• Serve as the primary spokesperson and global ambassador for the Institute

• Strengthen the Institute’s reputation as a high-quality, execution-focused development partner

• Lead public relations and stakeholder communication efforts

 

Your Experience

The successful candidate will be an innovative and collaborative leader with demonstrated experience in providing a clear sense of purpose to an organization and its employees.  Additionally, the successful candidate will be someone with commitment and willingness to uphold the Institute’s core values, guiding principles, and governing policies. 

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent strongly preferred)

• 20+ years of experience in global healthcare and/or biopharmaceutical delivery, including leadership roles with Board of Directors level accountability

• Strong track record of delivering clinical development programs in LMIC settings through CROs and strategic partners

• Experience working within matrixed organizations with strong governance and stakeholder alignment requirements

• Proven ability to build and manage strategic partnerships, including CROs and regional clinical networks

• Strong business and operational acumen, including experience with lean operating models and externalized execution (e.g., FSP models)

• Experience in managing organizational continuity, change, and transition

• Trustworthy with highest integrity and commitment to ethics

• Demonstrated passion for the Gates MRI values with a commitment to deliver results against our mission

• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to partner with a dynamic leadership team, internal, and external partners

• Flexible and able to multitask; can work within a fast-moving environment, while also driving toward clarity and solutions; demonstrate resourcefulness in setting priorities and guiding investment in people and systems

 

The target salary range for this role is $600,000 to $900,000 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

 

The Gates MRI offers hybrid work arrangements, a mix of on-site and work-from-home, and a competitive relocation package for those looking to move to the Cambridge, MA area.  Remote employment is possible with a commitment to a strong on-site presence for this key role.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We’re committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. We also believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve—in race, gender, age, cultures and beliefs—and we support this diversity through all of our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.