Gips, Donald Henry, 1960-

<p>Donald Henry Gips (born February 1, 1960) is the CEO of the Skoll Foundation. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa from 2009–2013. Ambassador Gips was appointed by President Barack Obama on June 4 and confirmed by the Senate on July 7, 2009. He presented his credentials to South African President Jacob Zuma on October 1, 2009. He served until January 2, 2013.</p>

<p>In February 2019, Gips was announced as the incoming CEO of the Skoll Foundation, taking over for the retired Sally Osberg. He began as CEO on April 9, 2019, at the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.</p>

<p>Previously he was a principal at Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory firm. He also leads the firm's Africa practice.</p>

<p>Previously he was the Divisional Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development for Level 3 Communications and Director of Mindspeed Technologies. He was also on the advisory board for President Barack Obama's presidential transition team.</p>

<p>In the late 1990s Gips served as Vice President Al Gore's Chief Domestic Policy Advisor. Previously, he was the chief of the Federal Communications Commission's international bureau.</p>

<p>He is married to Elizabeth Berry and has three children: Sam, Peter and Ben.</p>

<p>Gips is a graduate of Princeton Day School, Harvard College, and the Yale School of Management.</p>

<p>Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation, leads the organization’s work investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs to create lasting social change around the world. His experiences span public service, politics, business, finance, and technology.</p>

<p>Most recently, he led Albright Stonebridge Group’s Africa Practice, consulting with companies, entrepreneurs, and foundations investing across the continent. Previously, he served as Director of Presidential Personnel in the Obama White House, ushering in the most diverse administration in U.S. history. He served as U.S. Ambassador to South Africa where he managed more than 1,000 staff and a budget of over $600 million across multiple government agencies.</p>

<p>Early in his career, he helped design and create a $650 million start‐up government corporation to promote community service which became the AmeriCorps program, still operational today. He served as Chief Domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore and Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. Still earlier in Don’s career, he developed a clean water project with Sarvodaya, a leading social enterprise, and managed a refugee camp in Sri Lanka.</p>

<p>He sits on the boards of Zayo Group, a fiber and internet infrastructure service provider; Liquid Telecommunication, a Pan‐African provider of fiber and telecommunications services led by Strive Masiyiwa, one of Africa’s preeminent entrepreneurs and philanthropists; and the President’s Council on International Affairs at Yale University.</p>

<p>Don received an MBA from the Yale School of Management and his undergrad degree from Harvard University. He is married to Elizabeth (Liz) Berry Gips, who leads education programs for Village Health Works, bringing health care and development to rural Burundi. Don and Liz have three grown sons: Sam, Peter, and Ben.</p>