Ron Conway, founder of venture firm SV Angel, known for early investments in Google, Airbnb, and Meta, has resigned from the Salesforce Foundation, The New York Times reported. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's resignation comes after he said last week that he “fully supports” President Trump and believes the National Guard should patrol the streets of San Francisco.
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.
In an interview with The New York Times last week, Benioff praised Elon Musk's efforts to streamline the government and said he has been unable to keep up with coverage of immigration raids and Trump's attacks on the media. This is despite Benioff owning the news magazine Time, which he purchased in 2018.
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.
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