Robert F. Smith
Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. Vista currently has over $93 billion in assets under management and invests across private equity, permanent capital credit and public equity strategies. The firm oversees a portfolio of over 80 enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies that have more than 300 million users and employ over 90,000 people worldwide.
Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity.
Robert serves on the Board of Directors for the Business Roundtable, the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School, as a Member of the Cornell Engineering College Council, and is a founding member of the World Economic Forum EDISON Alliance, a cross-sector initiative to accelerate digital inclusion and eliminate connectivity deserts.
He is Chairman of Carnegie Hall, Chair of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, a Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and a Director of the REFORM Alliance, focused on criminal justice reform.
Smith is the Founding Director and President of the Fund II Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the African American experience, human rights, environmental conservation, and a broad range of initiatives. In 2017, Smith signed the Giving Pledge, the only African American to do so.
In 2019, Smith announced he would cover the student loans of nearly 400 Morehouse College graduates in a commencement address. After his Morehouse pledge, Smith founded the Student Freedom Initiative in 2020 to help relieve student debt for STEM students at all HBCUs, and personally committed $50 million, in addition to Fund II Foundation’s commitment of $50 million.
Smith is a strong advocate for what he has named the 2% Solution – calling on corporations to commit 2% of their annual net income to empower minority communities. He also founded the Student Freedom Initiative, to alleviate the student debt burden placed on students, and leads the Southern Communities Initiative with Rich Lesser (Boston Consulting Group) and Dan Schulman (PayPal), to advance racial equity in six Southern communities that are home to half of all Black people in America.