Robert F. Smith

Robert F. Smith is a philanthropist, investor and engineer. He serves as Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), which he founded in 2000. In addition, Smith serves as Chairman of Carnegie Hall, co-lead of Southern Communities Initiative (SCI) and Chairman of Student Freedom Initiative (SFI). In 2014, Smith was named one of Forbes’ 100 Greatest Living Business Minds. Smith, a Denver, CO, native, secured a collegiate-level internship with Bell Labs while still in high school. Interested in technology and science, he attended Cornell University and pursued a B.S. in chemical engineering. After graduating from Cornell, Smith worked at Kraft General Foods and was granted two U.S. and two European patents for coffee filtering systems. He earned his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1994 and remained in New York City to work at Goldman Sachs in technology investment banking. His work with Goldman Sachs later led him to San Francisco, where Smith directed and managed the merger and acquisition activity of large technology companies. Over the years, Smith has been recognized for his business and humanitarian work. Notable honors include theGrio’s Philanthropy Icon Award, the National Arts Award, the Ripple of Hope Award from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Chair’s Award and UNCF’s President’s Award. Smith’s success with Vista also led to the investment firm being named the 2023 Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International (PEI). Outside of working at Vista and the aforementioned institutions, Smith provides leadership and guidance to multiple organizations. He serves on the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School and as a Member of the Cornell Engineering College Council, among other positions. Through his passion for philanthropy, Smith supports several programs and foundations, continuing to inspire others to give back. He is the founding director and President of Fund II Foundation. Fund II Foundation provides grants to 501(c)(3) public charities that work to preserve the Black experience, safeguard human rights, sustain American values, promote music education and conserve the environment. With his support, Fund II Foundation’s internXL program connects highly qualified students to internship opportunities. In 2019, Smith committed to eliminating the student loan debt of Morehouse College’s graduating class and the Parent PLUS loans held by students’ parents or guardians. After Smith’s pledge, he helped launch SFI. SFI helps students avoid the lifelong, burdensome debt associated with pursuing higher education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). To further support communities that traditionally lack access to opportunities, Smith co-leads SCI, a catalytic program for accelerating racial equity across six Southern communities that represent more than 50% of the Black population in the U.S.