Jeff Raikes to give lecture during Raikes School dedication weekend

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 the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will present a lecture 2 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.

Raikes, a Nebraska native, retired recently as president of Microsoft Corp.'s Business Division after 27 years with the company. He took over Sept. 2 as chief officer of the Gates Foundation. Headquartered in Seattle, the foundation is led by co-chairs Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and William H. Gates Sr., and by Raikes as CEO. Bill and Melinda Gates believe every life has equal value. In 2000, they created the foundation to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world.

Raikes' lecture is "Business and Leadership Lessons." The 1-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 Raikes School, formerly the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management.

Raikes served on the board of the J.D. Edwards Program from 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 School has for seven years provided a world-class program to develop leadership for the information technology industry by providing a unique blended curriculum of computer science and business management for high-ability students. In addition, through its innovative design studio, students provide information-technology consulting services to both local and national businesses as part of their program.

The Raikes Foundation, headed by Raikes and his wife Tricia, provided the lead gift in a campaign to raise $20 million to enhance the school and continue support for its students and programs.

Raikes served as president of Business Division of Microsoft Corp. 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 Corp., 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 joined Microsoft in 1981 as a product manager and was instrumental in driving Microsoft's applications marketing strategy, and later served as director of Applications Marketing.

Before joining Microsoft, he served as a software development manager of Apple Computers Inc.

He is a trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation, and twice served as chairman of the board of the Software Publishers Association and as its director from 1987 to 1993. He also served on the board of the Washington Technology Center. 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.