Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. In 1975, he co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen and today he is chair of the Gates Foundation, a nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. In addition to being the founder of Breakthrough Energy, Bill is also the founder of TerraPower, a company developing groundbreaking nuclear energy and science technologies. He has three children. 

Rodi Guidero serves as Executive Director of Breakthrough Energy, leading the organization that encompasses all of Bill Gates’ climate and energy work. As part of these responsibilities, Rodi also serves as Managing Partner of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a collection of funds and a division of Breakthrough Energy. He remains part of Bill’s private office, where he manages Bill’s interests in strategic personal investments and business relationships.

Previously, Rodi worked at BMGI (now Cascade Investment), the investment office that manages Bill’s assets and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. In this role, he focused on Bill’s investments in early-stage technology companies and venture capital funds. Earlier in his career, Rodi served as the general counsel for two Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms.

Rodi holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. from the University of Washington.

Dr. Eric Toone serves as the Chief Technology Officer of Breakthrough Energy. As the CTO, Dr. Toone oversees the organization’s technological roadmap and evaluation. As part of his work at Breakthrough Energy, Eric also serves as a Managing Partner of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the venture capital arm of Breakthrough Energy.

Previously, Eric was a Chemistry professor at Duke University, where he authored nearly 300 publications. He also served as Director of ARPA-E, where he advanced wide-bandgap semiconductors and grid innovations. An inventor on over 30 patents, Eric co-founded three pharmaceutical companies and led Duke's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative from 2012 to 2016. Originally trained as a bioorganic/physical organic chemist, he has dedicated his career to bridging science and impactful applications.

Carmichael Roberts is the Chief Investment Officer of Breakthrough Energy. Carmichael pioneered Breakthrough’s comprehensive approach to company building. As the CIO, he oversees the organization’s investing, partnering with leading entrepreneurs, innovators, and executives at every stage to build global companies that can change the world. Carmichael also serves as a Managing Partner of Breakthrough Energy’s venture capital arm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Carmichael is also a co-founder and managing partner of Material Impact, a venture fund that creates resilient technology companies using advanced materials to solve global challenges. Previously, Carmichael built and scaled successful ventures, leveraging his background in organic chemistry and commercialization expertise.

Carmichael serves on boards for Duke University, WGBH, and Massachusetts General Hospital Physicians Organization, and he is a Finance Leaders Fellow with the Aspen Institute. He holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Duke University, completed his NSF fellowship at Harvard, and earned an MBA from MIT Sloan.