Hertz President Robbee Baker Kosak Named a Most Influential Woman in Business

Kosak is the fifth president of the Hertz Foundation and the first woman to lead the organization in its history. The Hertz Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering our nation’s most promising science and technology innovators throughout their careers.

Since joining the foundation in 2015, she has ushered the organization into a new era of philanthropic leadership. With an emphasis on relationship building with fellows and donors, Kosak has positioned the organization for long-term financial stability by quadrupling gift revenue. She has prioritized professional support for the network of 1,200 Hertz Fellows by expanding opportunities such as mentoring, research collaborations, and workshops to fuel the fellows’ impact and success. Under her leadership, the Hertz Foundation has expanded fellowships through the formation of partnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Draper, and the Hertz Corporation, expanding the impact of the foundation.

San Francisco Business Times honorees are top executives, C-suite leaders, and entrepreneurs that exemplify creativity, passion, vision, and perseverance. Honorees span a variety of industries including technology, real estate, finance, hospitality, non-profits, law, medicine, education, and more.

“I am incredibly honored to be listed among such remarkable women as one of this year’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business,” said Kosak. “Having devoted the majority of my career to expanding philanthropy for educational pursuits, I believe there is no greater investment than fueling the impact of our nation’s future leaders. It is a privilege to lead the Hertz Foundation in supporting the education of our nation’s most talented scientists and engineers as they pursue innovative solutions to some of our toughest real-world challenges.”

Kosak was honored among other inspiring women in Bay Area Business, including Sally Kay, Regional Head of Public Policy and External Affairs at Amazon; Diane Comer, Chief Technology Officer at Kaiser Permanente; and Kimberly Wilford, General Counsel at GoFundMe. Honorees were unveiled in the October 2022 issue of the San Francisco Business Times and recognized at an award ceremony on October 13.

A leader in expanding the field of global philanthropy in higher education, Kosak has extensive experience developing global philanthropic and partnership networks on behalf of the science and technology community. She has a long history of impact in these arenas, including leading Carnegie Mellon University to its first successful billion-dollar fundraising campaign, which she cites as one of the biggest accomplishments in her career.

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation identifies the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology and empowers them to pursue solutions to our toughest challenges. Launched in 1963, the Hertz Fellowship is the most prestigious fellowship program in the U.S., fueling more than 1,200 leaders, disruptors and creators who apply their remarkable talents where they’re needed most — from our national security to the future of health care. Hertz Fellows hold 3,000+ patents, have founded 375+ companies, and have received 200+ major national and international awards, including two Nobel Prizes, eight Breakthrough Prizes, the National Medal of Technology, the Fields Medal and the Turing Award. Learn more at HertzFoundation.org.

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