Robert Smith Founder, Chair & CEO Vista Equity Partners 2/26/25 Luncheon Schedule 11:30AM: Reception 12:00PM: Program 1:00PM: Lunch Philanthropist, entrepreneur and dealmaker Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm. Vista currently has more than $100 billion in assets under management and oversees a portfolio of over 85 enterprise software, data and technology-enabled companies that have more than 500 million users and employ over 95,000 people worldwide.
Smith serves on the Board of Directors for the Business Roundtable, on the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School and as a member of the Cornell Engineering College Council, where his leadership was honored through the naming of the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
He is Chairman of Carnegie Hall, Vice Chairman of NAF, the former Chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights and a Founding Partner of the REFORM Alliance, which is focused on criminal justice reform. Smith is a Founding Member of the World Economic Forum EDISON Alliance, a cross-sector initiative to accelerate digital inclusion and eliminate connectivity deserts, and he is the Founding Director and President of Fund II Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the African American experience, human rights, environmental conservation and a broad range of initiatives.
In 2017, Smith signed the Giving Pledge, the first African American to do so. In 2019, he announced that he would cover the student loan debt of approximately 400 Morehouse College graduates. After his Morehouse College pledge, Smith supported the launch of Student Freedom Initiative to help relieve the burden of student debt and provide freedom in professional and life choices for students at select Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions.
Smith is an advocate for The 2% Solution – calling on corporations to commit 2% of their annual net income to empower minority communities. He also co-leads Southern Communities Initiative to advance racial equity across six Southern communities that represent more than 50% of the Black population in the U.S.
Smith’s business achievements and global philanthropic works have been recognized by numerous entities. Among them, Smith was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2019, was named one of Forbes’ 100 Greatest Living Business Minds in 2017 and was recognized as one of TIME100’s “Most Influential People” in 2020. He was also honored with the Legal Defense Fund’s National Equal Justice Award and the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award in 2023.