PeopleofSuperintelligence

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Sue Desmond-Hellmann

Also known as Susan Desmond-Hellmann

Sue Desmond-Hellmann is an oncologist and biotechnology executive who helps govern OpenAI as a member of its board. She earned her medical degree at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1982, joined Genentech in 1995, and served there as president of product development until 2009, with a role in the first gene-targeted cancer therapies Avastin and Herceptin. In 2009, she became the first woman to serve as chancellor of UCSF, and from 2014 to 2020 she was CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. OpenAI named her to its board in March 2024, and she is one of the independent directors of the OpenAI Foundation.

Now at
University of California, San Francisco, OpenAI, OpenAI Foundation, Pfizer, National Resilience and Stand Up to Cancer
Born
1958
Works
4
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 1978–1982

    Medical degree in Reno

    She grows up in Reno, Nevada, and earns a bachelor of science in pre-medicine from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1978 and a medical degree there in 1982. She comes to UCSF as an intern in 1982, serves as chief resident, and also earns a master's degree in public health from UC Berkeley.

  2. 1995–2009

    Genentech product development

    She joins Genentech as a clinical scientist in 1995, becomes chief medical officer in 1996, and executive vice president of development and product operations in 1999. From March 2004 to 2009, she is president of product development, with a role in the development of two of the first gene-targeted cancer therapies, Avastin and Herceptin.

  3. 2009–2014

    Chancellor of UCSF

    In August 2009, she is named UCSF's ninth chancellor and becomes the first woman to hold the post. In 2011, she co-chairs a National Academy of Sciences committee that produces the report Toward Precision Medicine: Building a Knowledge Network for Biomedical Research and a New Taxonomy of Disease, and she steps down as chancellor in March 2014.

  4. 2010

    Election to two academies

    She is inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2010.

  5. 2014–2020

    CEO of the Gates Foundation

    The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announces her as its next CEO in December 2013, and she takes the role in May 2014 as the first physician to lead it. In December 2019, she announces she will step down, citing health and family reasons, and Mark Suzman succeeds her in 2020.

  6. March 2024

    Joining OpenAI's board

    OpenAI names her to its board in March 2024, together with Nicole Seligman and Fidji Simo, as Sam Altman rejoins the board. She also serves on Pfizer's board and on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

  7. 2024

    A Clark Kerr Award

    She receives the Clark Kerr Award for distinguished leadership in higher education from the UC Berkeley Academic Senate in 2024.

  8. As of October 2026

    OpenAI Foundation director

    She is one of the independent directors of the OpenAI Foundation, the nonprofit that controls OpenAI Group PBC after OpenAI's October 2025 recapitalization. She also serves on the boards of Pfizer, National Resilience and Stand Up to Cancer, advises GV, Lazard and BDT-MSD, and is an adjunct professor at UCSF.

Career

  1. Since 2025OpenAI FoundationIndependent Director
  2. Since 2024OpenAIBoard Member
  3. Since 1982University of California, San FranciscoIntern, Chancellor
  4. NowPfizerBoard Member
  5. NowNational ResilienceBoard Member
  6. NowStand Up to CancerBoard Member
  7. 2014–2020Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationCEO
  8. 2011National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and MedicineCommittee Co-Chair
  9. 1995–2009RocheClinical Scientist, Chief Medical Officer
  10. President's Council of Advisors on Science and TechnologyMember

Education

  1. 1982University of Nevada, RenoMedical degree
  2. 1978University of Nevada, RenoB.S. in pre-medicine
  3. University of California, BerkeleyMaster's degree in public health

From the biography.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Sue Desmond-Hellmann. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. Direct Form 990 pay in the latest returns of 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site is highest at $2.1M at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) (2024)Includes Sue Desmond-Hellmann. IRS Form 990 compensation across 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site from 2012 to 2025: in the latest returns, Mozilla reports $6.1M including related-company pay (2024) and the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) leads direct nonprofit pay at $2.1M (2024).
  3. 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a companyIncludes Sue Desmond-Hellmann. We estimate that 16% of AI career moves in the 2020s went from a university to a company; 29% of moves starting at a university went to a company, and 76% ended the university role.
  4. Among employers with 30+ full-time cases, OpenAI leads primary technical role H-1B pay at $310,000, and Amazon, Google and Microsoft file 57% of all casesIncludes OpenAI. Across 440,669 certified US H-1B filings from 44 employers (FY2020–FY2026), OpenAI leads primary technical role base pay at $310,000 and xAI leads overall base pay at $290,000.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Sue Desmond-Hellmann yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Susan Desmond-Hellmann - Biography - A History of UCSF history.library.ucsf.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Sue Desmond-Hellmann - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Names New CEO : The Two-Way : NPR npr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Gates Foundation CEO Susan Desmond-Hellmann to step down statnews.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors as investigation into his ouster comes to a close cnbc.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. OpenAI Names Paul Christiano to Foundation Board and Safety Committee – Unite.AI unite.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH | UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.