Raikes to give lecture during Raikes School dedication events

Sep 25th, 2008 | By | Category: Campus News, September 25, 2008

Jeffrey S. Raikes, chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and namesake of the new Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at UNL, will present a lecture 2 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Nebraska Union Auditorium.

Raikes, a Nebraska native, retired recently as president of Microsoft Corp.’s Business Division after 27 years with the company, and on Sept. 2 he took over as chief officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Headquartered in Seattle, Wash., the foundation is led by co-chairs Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and William H. Gates Sr., and by Raikes as CEO.

Raikes’ lecture is “Business and Leadership Lessons.” The one-hour lecture is free and open to the public. The lecture is in conjunction with a host of related activities Sept. 26-27 celebrating the dedication of the new Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management.

Raikes had served on the board of the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management since its inception, and in June, the program was renamed in his honor. He initially helped conceptualize the program to be responsive to the demands of the business community, and has mentored many of its students.

The Raikes Foundation, headed by Raikes and his wife Tricia, provided the lead gift of $10 million in a campaign to enhance the school and continue support for its students and programs.  For more information, go to http://raikes.unl.edu/.

Raikes served as President of Business Division of Microsoft Corporation from September 2005 to his retirement, and its Group Vice President of Information Worker Business from June 2004 to September 2005. He also served as Group Vice President of Sales and Support and Group Vice President of Sales and Marketing, as Group Vice President, Productivity and Business and Senior Vice President of Microsoft North America. As Group Vice President of Microsoft Corporation he was responsible for overseeing the development, marketing and strategy of the Microsoft Office System, including well-known products such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Project, as well as SharePoint Portal Server and new offerings including OneNote and Live Meeting. Raikes had served as a Product Manager of Microsoft since joining in 1981 and was instrumental in driving Microsoft’s applications marketing strategy, then served as its Director of Applications Marketing.

Before joining Microsoft, he served as a Software Development Manager of Apple Computer Inc.

He serves as a director of XO Holdings Inc., as a Trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation, and twice served as Chairman of the Board of the Software Publishers Association and its director from 1987 to 1993. He also served on the Board of the Washington Technology Center. He serves as a member of Executive Committee at The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He is involved with numerous community activities, focusing on education and children’s issues. As part of a community effort to preserve Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, he joined with other Seattle business leaders in 1992 to purchase the Seattle Mariners baseball club. He was inducted in November 2003 into Computer Reseller News Magazine’s Computer Industry Hall of Fame.

Raikes holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Economic Systems from Stanford University.

Tags: , , ,

Leave Comment