VC legend Ron Conway quits Salesforce Foundation after Benioff’s National Guard comments

Ron Conway, founder of Venture Firm SV AngelGoogle, known for early investments in Airbnb and Meta, has resigned from the Salesforce Foundation, The New York Times reported. After Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff resigns Saying last week He “fully supported” President Trump and thought National Guard troops should patrol the streets of San Francisco.

Conway has been on the board of the Salesforce Foundation, which aims to support education and workforce development for underprivileged youth, for a decade. The philanthropic organization gave away $36 million in 2023 and ended that year with $400 million in assets, according to tax filings, the New York Times reported.

Benioff and Conway have been friends for 25 years and shared left-leaning political views for much of that time. But the current ideological outlook of the Salesforce CEO bothers Conway.

“I am deeply saddened to say that with your recent comments and failure to understand their impact, I now hardly recognize the man I have admired for so long,” Conway wrote in an email to Benioff obtained by The New York Times on Thursday.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Benioff praised Elon Musk’s government efficiency efforts and said he’s not keeping up with reporting on the immigration campaign or Trump’s attacks on the press. Although Benef owns News magazine TimeWhich he bought in 2018.

Benioff is one of many high-profile tech leaders and Investors Those who previously supported the Democratic Party have now expressed their support for Trump.

The rift between Benioff and Conway occurred during Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, one of the biggest annual events in San Francisco. Neither Salesforce nor Conway immediately responded to a request for comment.