Bill Gates On The Next U.S. President: Whoever Wins Should Be An Innovating Leader

Former Microsoft Corporation MSFT CEO Bill Gates has gone a long way since his job as a corporate executive. In the past few years, Bill and his wife Melinda have dedicated a big portion of their time to helping those in need through their charitable foundation – The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Moreover, it should be noted that Bill and Melinda Gates have taken the metaphor of “the fish and the fishing rod” very seriously, so their efforts are not only focused on plain giving, but also on how science and technology can be used to help people to give even more. "We know our resources alone are not enough, so we work to change public policies, attitudes, and behaviors to improve lives," the Foundation’s site adds.

As true philanthropists, the Gates have not gone into politics, leaving the door open to anyone who wants to help in their mission, no matter what their political stance is. In this line, Bill posted a blog entry on “Accelerating Innovation with Leadership” on Thursday. In the note, he explained how he thinks the next U.S. president (whoever this is) can be true leaders in the innovation field.

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“I’ve heard some people argue that life-changing innovations come exclusively from the private sector. But innovation starts with government support for the research labs and universities working on new insights that entrepreneurs can turn into companies that change the world. The public sector’s investments unlock the private sector’s ingenuity,” he wrote, making a point for the importance of combining leadership from both political and private sectors, and exhorting voters to consider which types of leaders will be able to drive the innovations the world needs.

“The best leaders have the ability to do both the urgent things that demand attention today and at the same time lay the groundwork for innovation that will pay dividends for decades,” Gates continued.

Whoever wins the November election will be part of an elite group of national leaders that can drive innovation to new levels. Consequently, the businessman shared four objectives he believes the new leaders should prioritize:

• Provide every person on the planet with affordable, clean, non-climate changing energy.
• Develop a cure for neurodegenerative diseases and a vaccine for HIV.
• Protect the earth from future health epidemics, which could prove more deadly and infectious than some of the worst around nowadays.
• Make new tools available to every student and teacher, in order to provide world-class education for everyone.

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Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.