Helene D. Gayle

President, Spelman College

Dr. Gayle has been a Director of The Coca‑Cola Company since 2013. Dr. Gayle is President of Spelman College, a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent, and has held this position since July 2022. She served as Chief Executive Officer, The Chicago Community Trust, a community foundation dedicated to improving the Chicago region through strategic grant making, civic engagement and inspiring philanthropy, from October 2017 to June 2022. Dr. Gayle held the position of Chief Executive Officer of McKinsey Social Initiative, an independent non-profit organization founded by McKinsey & Company, which brings together expert problem solvers to develop innovative approaches to complex social challenges, from July 2015 to September 2017. She held the positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of CARE USA, a leading international humanitarian organization, from 2006 to 2015. From 2001 to 2006, she served as program director in the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Gayle started her career in public health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) in 1984, holding various positions, ultimately becoming the director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention in 1995. Dr. Gayle was previously a director at Colgate-Palmolive Company from 2010 to 2021 and GoHealth, Inc. from July 2020 to May 2022.  She is also a director of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and Organon & Co.