Gates quits ICOS board

Published 9:00 pm Monday, January 10, 2005

BOTHELL – Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp.’s co-founder and chairman, is stepping down as a director of ICOS Corp. in order to serve on the board at Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Gates has served on the board of ICOS and been a major investor since the Bothell-based biotechnology company began operations in 1990.

“A challenge for me has always been managing my time effectively so that I feel confident about my contributions at Microsoft, my foundation and at home,” Gates wrote in his resignation letter to Paul Clark, ICOS’ chairman and chief executive. “With this in mind, I have always limited my involvement to only one outside public board.”

Buffet, Gates’ friend and fellow bridge player, asked him to join Berkshire Hathaway’s board last month. He was elected to that board to fill a seat formerly held by Buffett’s wife, Susan, who died last year.

Clark said in a statement on Monday that Gates will be missed.

“ICOS is extremely grateful to have had Bill Gates’ vision and leadership as a member of the board during a period that spanned two decades,” Clark wrote. “His extraordinary service has been valuable at every stage of the company’s development.”

During Gates’ tenure, ICOS has evolved from a startup with a handful of employees to the largest biotech firm based in Washington state.

In his letter, Gates called ICOS, the developer of Cialis, a “great company with an exciting future ahead of it” and said he plans to remain a long-term investor. As of last year, Gates owned 9 percent, or about 5.7 million shares, of ICOS stock, according to financial filings.

Gates’ decision to stay invested apparently helped reassure other shareholders, as ICOS shares lost only 2 cents, to close at $26.85, on Monday.

While ICOS may have enjoyed extra notoriety on Wall Street because of Gates’ presence on the board, the company still has an impressive list of directors, said Paul Latta, analyst with Seattle-based McAdams Wright Ragen. Among the board members are former chief executive officers for Citicorp/Citibank, IBM and Eli Lilly &Co.

“It’s got to be one of the strongest boards in the region, even without Bill Gates,” Latta said.

Company spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick said she was not sure if ICOS would replace Gates on the board, which will consist of 10 directors after Gates leaves next month.

“We’ve had in the past as few as six or seven board members,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that the company’s governance rules allow for up to 12 board members.

In March, however, Robert Herbold, Microsoft’s former chief operating officer, joins the board. He was elected as a director before Gates decided to resign.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.