Robert F. Smith

Founder, Chairman and CEO

Robert Frederick Smith was born in Denver, Colorado in 1962 and studied chemical engineering at Cornell University, working as an engineer at Goodyear, Kodak and Air Products before earning an MBA from Columbia University. He worked as a technology investment banker at Goldman Sachs, then in 2000 founded Vista Equity Partners, which specialises in investing in enterprise software companies and became one of the largest investors in the sector worldwide. He drew wide attention in 2019 when he announced at the Morehouse College commencement that he would pay off the student debt of the entire graduating class. He chairs the board of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and was the first African American to sign the Giving Pledge.