ABOUT
Robert F. Smith
Robert F. Smith is a philanthropist, dealmaker, business leader and an investor in transformative enterprise software companies. Aside from his business prowess, he is a champion of providing access to opportunity, ensuring a broad coalition of people impact the next generation of technology and innovation, and that they are equipped to succeed in an ever-evolving workforce.
Learn about his early life, the beginning of his career, the founding of the investment firm — Vista Equity Partners (Vista) — and his dedication to service and giving back to communities that lack access to opportunities through innovative and expansive philanthropic giving.
Early Life and Career
Smith was born in a working-class neighborhood of Denver, CO, on December 1, 1962. Growing up, both of his parents cared deeply about causes that uplifted communities that lacked access to opportunities. When he was just an infant, he went with his mother to the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. In August 2023, he made his own speech at the same location for the 60th anniversary of the event as a continuation of Dr. King’s work.
Each month, for decades, he watched his mom send off a $25 check to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) – no matter his family’s financial situation. These experiences helped instill in him the belief that everyone can be a part of making the world a better and more equitable place.
While in high school, Smith became passionate about technology, especially engineering, and applied for a coveted internship at Bell Labs. He was initially denied because the spots were reserved for college students, but his persistence in calling the company every week for five months paid off when he was eventually offered the position.
He continued to work at Bell Labs during his summer and winter breaks while completing his chemical engineering degree at Cornell University. After graduating from Cornell University, he worked as an engineer for several top companies – including Kraft General Foods, where he was granted two patents in the U.S. and two more in Europe – before going on to earn his MBA with honors from Columbia Business School.
In 1994, Smith joined Goldman Sachs to help develop more robust investment banking in technology, starting in New York and later moving to Silicon Valley. He became the Co-Head of Enterprise Systems and Storage, assisting massive technology companies like Hewlett Packard, IBM, eBay and Apple with mergers and acquisitions. He was the first person at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, CA, to focus on that specific area of financing.
“We can transcend the script of a pre-defined story and pave the way for the future that we design … tap that power, that conviction, that determination within us.”
- Robert F. Smith
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners
In 2000, Smith founded Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm with more than $100 billion in assets under management. Vista exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses across four investment strategies that include private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity. He continues to serve as Chairman and CEO of Vista, directing the firm’s strategy, governance and investor relations.
Community Board Positions
Chairman of Student Freedom Initiative
Member of the Board of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Member of the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School
Member of the Cornell Engineering College Council
Chairman of Carnegie Hall
At-Large Board Member of the Business Roundtable Board of Directors
Founding Member of the World Economic Forum EDISON Alliance
Vice Chairman of the NAF Board of Directors
Member of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism
Philanthropy
Smith believes deeply in supporting communities that lack access to opportunities. Throughout his life, he has supported a number of philanthropic organizations and causes near and dear to his heart. In 2017, he also joined the Giving Pledge as the first Black individual to do so, pledging to donate a majority of his net worth during his lifetime.
His philanthropy has supported major education institutions, social justice organizations, the arts and scientific research for breast cancer, prostate cancer and other diseases.
Smith made history when he donated $20 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which was the largest donation at the time by an individual to the museum in its history. In 2019, he stunned Morehouse College graduates during his commencement speech by announcing a commitment to pay off all student loan debt for the entire class and their guardians — a $34 million gift.
Following this donation, he expanded his debt-eliminating efforts and helped create the nonprofit organization Student Freedom Initiative (SFI), which works to reduce the student loan debt taken on by STEM students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). SFI was initially funded with a $50 million donation by Fund II Foundation, which was followed by a personal donation of an additional $50 million by Smith himself.
To further give back to communities that lack access to opportunities, Smith co-leads Southern Communities Initiative, alongside Dan Schulman (former CEO of PayPal) and Rich Lesser (Global Chair of Boston Consulting Group), which is a catalytic program for accelerating racial equity across six Southern communities that represent more than 50% of the Black population in the U.S.
Beyond his personal giving, he is also the founding director and President of Fund II Foundation, an organization that helps communities that lack access to opportunities through programs and investments that prioritize creating pathways to opportunity for these communities. Fund II Foundation works to safeguard human rights, provide music education, preserve the environment while promoting the benefits of the outdoors and sustain critical American values, such as entrepreneurialism.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture
HBCU Impact Award
theGrio’s Philanthropy Icon Award
George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award
Legal Defense Fund’s National Equal Justice Award
TIME100’s “Most Influential People” of 2020
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
UNCF President’s Award
Speaking Engagements
View videos from some of his prior speaking engagements, including interviews and roundtable discussions.
