The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that Yoko Shimomura will be joining its Chief Operating Officer Leadership Team. Shimomura will assume the role of Chief of Staff, Office of the COO effective June 27, transitioning from her current role as Deputy Director, Operations Management in GWR.
Shimomura spent the last four years leading the GWR team through strategic planning, led a number of cross-Ops projects, oversaw the team’s success measures and metrics, and managed process improvement & technology for Travel, Events, Facilities, and the Visitor Center. Prior to that, she was a consultant in IT helping with new Seattle Campus workplace technology, and served as Vice President in Corporate Services at Washington Mutual Bank.
Shimomura received a BA from Fairhaven College at Western Washington University in American Ethnic Studies. She is widely known and respected as a strong leader, high-integrity collaborator, and brings a wealth of operations knowledge and experience that will help us deliver on our priorities, the foundation said.
Shimomura will be a key advisor and representative of the COO, lead priority initiatives/projects/investments, develop and maintain critical relationships across Operations, Programs and Regional Offices, while overseeing the management of the Office of the COO.