According to the New York Times, Ron Conway, founder of the venture capital firm SV Angel and an early backer of companies like Google, Airbnb, and Meta, has stepped down from the Salesforce Foundation. His departure comes after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently expressed strong support for President Trump and suggested that National Guard forces should be deployed on San Francisco’s streets.
Conway had served on the board of the Salesforce Foundation—which focuses on advancing education and career opportunities for underprivileged youth—for ten years. Tax documents cited by the New York Times show the nonprofit contributed $36 million in 2023 and closed the year with assets totaling $400 million.
Benioff and Conway have maintained a friendship for 25 years, sharing progressive political beliefs for much of that time. However, Conway was disturbed by Benioff’s recent political stance.
“It pains me deeply to say that after your latest remarks, and your inability to see their consequences, I hardly recognize the individual I have respected for so long,” Conway wrote in an email to Benioff on Thursday, as reported by the New York Times.
A Salesforce representative confirmed Conway’s resignation to TechCrunch, stating, “We are extremely grateful to Ron Conway for his remarkable service and dedication to the Salesforce Foundation Board over the past ten years.”
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Benioff commended Elon Musk’s efforts to improve government efficiency and admitted he was not following news about immigration raids or Trump’s criticism of the media, despite owning Time magazine since 2018.
Benioff joins a growing list of prominent tech executives and investors who, after previously backing the Democratic Party, have now expressed support for Trump.
The disagreement between Benioff and Conway became public during Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, one of San Francisco’s largest annual gatherings. Both Salesforce and Conway did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Update: This article has been revised to include a statement from the Salesforce representative.
