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

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

In an interview with the New York Times last week, Benioff argued that San Francisco needs “a show of force” and called for deploying the National Guard to address what he described as the city’s deteriorating conditions. He also praised Elon Musk’s government efficiency efforts and said that he wasn’t keeping up with reports on immigration raids or Trump’s attacks on the press, despite owning the news magazine Time, which he purchased in 2018.

Conway has been on the board of the Salesforce Foundation, whose mission is to support education and workforce development for disadvantaged youth, for a decade. The philanthropic organization donated $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 the majority of that time. But the Salesforce CEO’s current ideological viewpoints upset Conway.

“It saddens me immensely to say that with your recent comments, and failure to understand their impact, I now barely recognize the person I have so long admired,” Conway wrote on Thursday in an email to Benioff obtained by the New York Times.

A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that Conway has resigned. “We have deep gratitude for Ron Conway and his incredible contributions to the Salesforce Foundation Board for over a decade,” the spokesperson said.

Benioff is one of the many high-profile tech leaders and investors who, despite having previously supported the Democratic Party, have now voiced their support for Trump. The rift between Benioff and Conway unfolded during Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, one of the largest events held annually in San Francisco.

Neither Salesforce nor Conway immediately responded to a request for comment.

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