Venture Capital Legend Ron Conway Leaves Salesforce Foundation Following Benioff National Guard Comments

Ron Conway, founder of venture firm SV Angel, known for its early investments in Google, Airbnb, and Meta, has resigned from the Salesforce Foundation, The New York Times reported. The resignation comes after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said last week that he “fully supports” President Trump and suggested that the National Guard should patrol the streets of San Francisco to combat crime and homelessness.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Benioff argued that San Francisco needed a “show of force” and called for the deployment of the National Guard to deal with what he called the deteriorating situation in the city. He also praised Elon Musk’s efforts to streamline the government and said that despite owning the news magazine Time, which he bought in 2018, he has not been able to keep up with coverage of the immigration raids and Trump’s attack on the media.

Mr. Conway has served for 10 years as a board member of the Salesforce Foundation, whose mission is to support the education and workforce development of underserved youth. The charity gave away $36 million in 2023, according to its tax returns, and ended that year with $400 million in assets, The New York Times reported.

Benioff and Conway have been friends for 25 years, and for much of that time they shared left-wing political views. But the Salesforce CEO’s current ideological perspective upset Conway.

“I am deeply disappointed to hear that your recent comments have left me with an incomprehensible impact that makes me almost unrecognizable of a man I have admired for many years,” Conway wrote in an email to Benioff obtained by The New York Times on Thursday.

A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that Conway has resigned. “We are deeply grateful to Ron Conway and his outstanding contributions to the Salesforce Foundation Board of Directors over more than a decade,” a spokesperson said.

Benioff is one of many prominent technology leaders and investors who have previously supported Democrats but are now supporting Trump. The rift between Mr. Benioff and Mr. Conway became evident during Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, one of the largest events held each year in San Francisco.

Salesforce and Conway did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Update: This post has been updated with a statement from a Salesforce spokesperson.