Videos
As a businessman, engineer, and philanthropist, Robert F. Smith has been invited to speak on a wide range of issues.
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, was invited to give the commencement address at American University’s Spring 2015 graduation ceremony held on May 10, 2015. Smith highlighted the opportunities available to students today that were not possible for people in their parents’ or grandparents’ generations, and mentioned how advancements in technology have opened doors for this graduating class that will change their lives.
Denver native Robert F. Smith, who is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, was invited to give the commencement address at the University of Denver’s Spring 2017 graduation ceremony held on June 9, 2017. Smith’s speech included messages reminding graduates that their education has given them the qualities necessary to inspire change, and quoting Frederick Douglass, “education … means emancipation.” He encouraged students to use the knowledge and power they have gained while earning their degrees to be purposeful, hopeful, and stubborn in their values. In addition to being a hometown hero in Denver, Smith is also the son of a University of Denver graduate. His father received his EdD from the University of Denver.
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, was honored at Carnegie Hall for the World Values Network’s 8th Annual Jewish Awards Gala Dinner. In his speech, Smith, who has been the Chairman of Carnegie Hall since 2016, touched on the importance of allyship between African American and Jewish communities, the shared values between those communities, and how the history of each of those heritages has shaped the history of the United States.
Robert F. Smith explains how a working knowledge of how to code can be taught at a proficiency level in less than a year, and can subsequently create a lifelong career and open many doors for the individuals who learn to code.
During the Epic Day of Code event, Robert F. Smith answers questions from students on his internship experience with Bell Laboratories. Smith discusses educational opportunities, and how he learned about hard work, resilience and “the joy of figuring things out” at his life-changing internship at Bell Laboratories.
Robert F. Smith, Founder Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, talks about the internship that changed his life, and how he sees internship programs as a way to provide students with valuable learning opportunities and allows companies to access top talent and put students in a position where they can become better leaders in the future.
Robert F. Smith spoke to students at his Alma Mater, Columbia Business School, at the Columbia Black Business Students Association’s ELEVATE Conference on March 25, 2017. Smith, who received his MBA from Columbia in 1994, spoke with Darius Grant (‘17) about his career path and the opportunities that are available to students who are graduating and entering the workforce today.
