The first CEO of the Fund for Science and Technology, the $3.1 billion foundation responsible for giving away a large portion of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s fortune, has stepped down nine months after its public launch.
Dr. Lynda Stuart, a physician-scientist who previously led the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, announced her departure on Thursday, saying the foundation will have “different leadership” for its next phase. No reason was given for the change.
The Seattle-based foundation launched publicly in August with a mandate to deploy at least $500 million over four years in bioscience, the environment, and AI for good.
It has awarded at least $30 million in grants to institutions including Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle Children’s, Benaroya Research Institute, and Scripps Oceanography.
Stuart’s last day was May 8, according to a spokesperson for the Allen estate, who said Stuart made the decision to step down. Chief Financial and Operations Officer Liz Carey and Chief Programs Officer Marc Malandro will lead the organization in the interim, with the board starting a CEO search in the future.
The change follows broader shifts in the Allen philanthropic ecosystem. Earlier this year, the foundation’s shift toward applied uses of AI and a new proposal-based funding process for the Allen Institute for AI contributed to the departure of several top researchers — including former Ai2 CEO Ali Farhadi, who joined Microsoft with at least nine other colleagues.
It also comes at a pivotal moment more broadly for the Allen estate, which is led by Paul Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, as the estate works to sell his professional sports franchises.
- The sale of the Portland Trail Blazers was approved by the NBA Board of Governors in March, in a two-part deal valued at a reported $4.25 billion.
- The Seattle Seahawks went on the market in February, weeks after winning the Super Bowl, and are expected to sell for upward of $9 billion, according to ESPN.
Allen directed that all proceeds from the sale of his sports teams and other assets would go to philanthropy, and FFST is expected to oversee a large portion of those proceeds.
Jody Allen chairs the FFST board. The board also includes Allan Jones, president emeritus of the Allen Institute; Tom Daniel, a UW professor emeritus; and Nancy Peretsman, a managing director at investment bank Allen & Company.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who was on the board when FFST launched in August, is no longer listed as a member. Ballmer, who served on the board from its formation in 2022, completed his service in March, the spokesperson for the Allen estate confirmed.
In her LinkedIn post, Stuart alluded to the challenging federal funding environment for science, saying FFST’s early investments “provided hope when scientists didn’t have any” and “preserved key programs that would have otherwise been dismantled.” She said the foundation will remain grounded in Seattle, continuing to contribute to Allen’s legacy.
Stuart, reached via direct message, referred to her post and directed further inquiries to the foundation. As for what’s next for her, she wrote in her public post: “Science is a global enterprise, and as a citizen of the world, who knows what that might be?”
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