Board members and trustees :On January 5, 2017, the board of trustees announced the selection of
Rajiv Shah to serve as the 13th president of the foundation. Shah became the youngest person, at 43, and first Indian-American to serve as president of the foundation. He assumed the position March 1, succeeding
Judith Rodin who served as president for nearly twelve years and announced her retirement, at age 71, in June 2016. A former
president of the
University of Pennsylvania, Rodin was the first woman to head the foundation. Rodin in turn had succeeded
Gordon Conway in 2005. Current staff as of June 1, 2021 include: •
Reena Ninan is a former member of the
Atlantic Council, Rockefeller Foundation &
Council on Foreign Relations. She currently works as a presider of their public forums. • Admiral
James G. Stavridis (chair), 2018–, retired
United States Navy; Supreme Allied Commander at
NATO, 2009–2013, Operating Executive,
The Carlyle Group; chair of the Board of Counselors, McLarty Associates •
Agnes Binagwaho, 2019–, Vice-Chancellor, The
University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda •
Mellody Hobson, 2018–, President,
Ariel Investments •
Donald Kaberuka, 2015–, former president,
African Development Bank Group, Rwanda Minister of Finance and Economic Planning between 1997 and 2005. •
Martin L. Leibowitz, 2012–, Vice-chairman,
Morgan Stanley Research Department's Global Strategy Team; formerly
TIAA-CREF (1995 to 2004) and 26 years with
Salomon Brothers • Yifei Li, 2013–, country chair,
Man Group China •
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, 2019–, co-founder, Sahel Consulting •
Paul Polman, 2019–, chair,
International Chamber of Commerce, The B Team; Former CEO,
Unilever •
Sharon Percy Rockefeller, 2017–, President & CEO,
WETA-TV •
Juan Manuel Santos, 2020–, Former President of Colombia & Recipient of
2016 Nobel Peace Prize •
Rajiv Shah, 2017–, President of the foundation and ex-officio member of the board; served as a Rockefeller Foundation Trustee, 2015–2017; former administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2010 to 2017. •
Adam Silver, 2020–, Commissioner,
National Basketball Association (NB) •
Patty Stonesifer, 2019–, former President & CEO,
Martha's Table; former CEO and co-chair,
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation •
Ravi Venkatesan, 2014–, former chairman,
Bank of Baroda; former Chairman
Microsoft India (2004–2011) and
Cummins India; Special Representative for Young People and Innovation,
UNICEF Past trustees •
Alan Alda, 1989–1994 – actor and film director. •
Winthrop W. Aldrich 1935–1951 – chairman of the
Chase National Bank, 1934–1953; Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, 1953–1957. •
John W. Davis 1922–1939 –
J. P. Morgan's private attorney; founding president of the
Council on Foreign Relations. •
C. Douglas Dillon 1960–1961 – US Treasury Secretary, 1961–1965; member of the Council on Foreign Relations. •
Orvil E. Dryfoos 1960–1963 – publisher of
The New York Times, 1961–1963. •
Peggy Dulany, 1989–1994 – Fourth child of David Rockefeller; founder and president of
Synergos. •
Charles William Eliot 1914–1917 – president of
Harvard, 1869–1909. •
John Robert Evans 1982–1996 (chairman) – president of the
University of Toronto 1972–1978; founding director of the Population, Health and Nutrition Department of the World Bank •
Ann M. Fudge, 2006–2015, former chairman and CEO,
Young & Rubicam Brands, New York •
Frederick Taylor Gates 1913–1923 – John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s principal advisor. •
Helene D. Gayle, 2010–2019, president and CEO of
CARE. •
Stephen Jay Gould 1993–2002 – author; professor and curator, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. •
Rajat Gupta, 2006–11, former director,
Goldman Sachs,
Procter & Gamble,
AMR Corporation; Special Advisor to the
UN Secretary-General; former managing director,
McKinsey & Company. •
Wallace Harrison 1951–1961 – Rockefeller family architect; lead architect for the
UN Headquarters complex. •
Thomas J. Healey, 2003–2012, partner, Healey Development LLC; teaching course at
Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government; formerly with
Goldman Sachs and an Assistant Secretary of the
U.S. Treasury. •
Alice S. Huang, senior faculty associate,
California Institute of Technology. •
Charles Evans Hughes 1917–1921; 1925–1928 – Chief Justice of the United States, 1930–1941. •
Robert A. Lovett 1949–1961 – US Secretary of Defense, 1951–1953. •
Monica Lozano, 2012–2018, CEO,
ImpreMedia, LLC •
Yo-Yo Ma 1999–2002 – cellist. •
Strive Masiyiwa, 2003–2018, Zimbabwe a businessman and cellphone pioneer, founding
Econet Wireless. •
Jessica T. Mathews, president,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C. •
John J. McCloy chairman: 1946–1949; 1953–1958 – prominent US presidential advisor; chairman of the
Ford Foundation, 1958–1965; chairman of the council on Foreign Relations. •
Bill Moyers 1969–1981 – journalist. •
Diana Natalicio, 2004–2014, president, The
University of Texas at El Paso •
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 2009–2018, Finance Minister of Nigeria; former managing director of the
World Bank; former Foreign Minister of Nigeria. •
Sandra Day O'Connor, 2006–2013, associate justice, retired,
Supreme Court of the United States • James F. Orr, III, (board chair), president and chief executive officer, LandingPoint Capital, Boston, Massachusetts. •
Richard Parsons, 2007–2021, chairman of the board,
Citigroup Inc. •
Surin Pitsuwan, 2010–2012, secretary general of
ASEAN (2007–2012) and
Thai politician. •
Mamphela Ramphele, chairperson, Circle Capital Ventures, Cape Town, South Africa. • David Rockefeller Jr., 2006–2016, chair of foundation board Dec. 2010– ; vice-chairman of
Rockefeller Family & Associates; director and former chair,
Rockefeller & Co., Inc.; current trustee of the
Museum of Modern Art. •
John D. Rockefeller 1913–1923. •
John D. Rockefeller Jr. chairman: 1917–1939. •
John D. Rockefeller III chairman: 1952–1972. •
John D. Rockefeller IV 1976–81. •
Judith Rodin, president of the foundation (2005–2016); ex-officio member of the board •
Julius Rosenwald 1917–1931 – chairman of
Sears Roebuck, 1932–1939. •
John Rowe M.D., 2007–2019, professor at the
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; former chairman and CEO of
Aetna Inc. •
Dean Rusk 1950–1961 – US Secretary of State, 1961–1969. •
Raymond W. Smith, chairman,
Rothschild, Inc., New York; chairman of
Arlington Capital Partners; chairman of
Verizon Ventures; and a trustee of the
Carnegie Corporation of New York. •
Frank Stanton 1961–1966? – president of
CBS, 1946–1971. •
Arthur Hays Sulzberger 1939–1957 – publisher of
The New York Times, 1935–1961. •
Paul Volcker 1975–1979 – chairman, board of governors, Federal Reserve Board; president, New York Federal Reserve Bank. •
Thomas J. Watson Jr. 1963–1970? – president of
IBM, 1952–1971. •
James Wolfensohn – former president of the
World Bank. •
George D. Woods 1961–1967 – president of the World Bank, 1963–1968. •
Võ Tòng Xuân, 2002–2010, vice president for academic affairs, Tan Tao University,
Ho Chi Minh City; former rector of
An Giang University, the second university in Vietnam's
Mekong Delta. •
Owen D. Young 1928–1939 – chairman of
GE, 1922–1939, 1942–1945.
Presidents •
John D. Rockefeller Jr. – February 11, 1913 – November 6, 1917 •
George E. Vincent – November 6, 1917 – September 20, 1929; member of the
John D. Rockefeller/
Frederick T. Gates General Education Board (1914–1929) •
Max Mason – September 20, 1929 – May 30, 1936 •
Raymond B. Fosdick – May 30, 1936 – August 22, 1948; brother of American clergyman
Harry Emerson Fosdick •
Chester Barnard – August 22, 1948 – July 17, 1952;
Bell System executive and author of landmark 1938 book,
The Functions of the Executive •
Dean Rusk – July 17, 1952 – January 19, 1961;
United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 • J. George Harrar – January 20, 1961 – October 3, 1972; plant pathologist, "generally regarded as the father of 'the Green Revolution.'" •
John Hilton Knowles – October 3, 1972 – December 31, 1979; physician, general director of the
Massachusetts General Hospital (1962–1971). •
Richard Lyman – January 1, 1980 – January 11, 1988; president of
Stanford University (1970–1980). •
Peter Goldmark Jr. – January 11, 1988 – December 31, 1997; former executive director of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. •
Gordon Conway – January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2004; an agricultural ecologist and former president of the
Royal Geographical Society. •
Judith Rodin - January 1, 2005 – March 1, 2017; former president of the
University of Pennsylvania, and provost, chair of the Department of Psychology,
Yale University. •
Rajiv Shah – March 1, 2017 –, distinguished fellow in residence, Georgetown University; previously administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2010 to 2015. == Grant recipients ==