There is no doubt that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the most influential philanthropies in the world. Despite co-founder Melinda French Gates’s resignation and a new $1 billion pledge to initiatives supporting women, girls, and reproductive rights, there’s a lot to learn from her leading role in the foundation.

In April, Yahoo Finance sat down with Patty Stonesifer, French Gates’ friend, mentor, and founding CEO of the Gates Foundation, who also once served as interim CEO of the Washington Post.

French Gates and Stonesifer met at Microsoft (MSFT). Reflecting back on their days at the tech company, Stonesifer said she and French Gates leaned on each other in the face of the company’s male-dominated leadership.

When asked to join the Gates Foundation, Stonesifer said the opportunity was “just irresistible.”

To see the full Lead This Way episode, click here.