Silimacon Valley Stalwart Ron Conway is stepping down from the board of the Salesforce Foundation after ten jobs, moving on to a rare public presence within the Tech-Philanthropy community.
The resignation was in direct response to CEO Marc Benioff’s recent comments expressing support for former president Donald Trump and the deployment of the National Guard to San Francisco.
Conway – Considered the “Father of Silicon Valley” with investments in Google, Airbnb and others – he is also a popular pro-democracy activist and progressive activist. In his resignation email to Benioff he wrote:
“I am very sorry to say that with your recent comments, and failure to understand their impact, I have now found no one to admire.”
He pointed to the CEO’s support for Federal intervention in the city and the discovery of social issues such as the invasion of Ice and social investment.
Conway and Benioff have been associated for more than 25 years. Their distinguishing features are not just human conflict but a broad philosophical one. They came so close that they established an empire that came as a shock to the bay-area tech community.
Benioff’s comments, made in an interview with the New York Times, suggested that San Francisco did not have enough police officers and that legal forces would be needed – forces drawn from city officials, community leaders and progressive donors.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, among others, said in the wake of the 70-year-old’s death and drug addiction that it had declined – mirroring the social breakdown revealed by the federal troop deployment.
For the Salesforce Foundation, the departure of Conway – an influential Board Member and Philanthropic Figure – poses a risk of reward. The foundation, about 400 million in risks and large educational and career development grants, is now facing the question of whether its leadership meets its stated values.
In the meantime, with Benioff The event highlights the decision-making technology leaders facing political alignment, public policy commentary and public understanding. A CEO publicly aligning with the deployment of Federal Troops in a liberal city like San Francisco is an unusual deployment for a company focused on the 1-1-1 model.
In the financial markets, things related to strong corporate governance, board instability, valuation arguments and bad mergers of batakelhor.
Beaff has since issued a public apology, saying his earlier comments “came out of the blue” about the safety of the company’s annual conference that he now believes was unnecessary in San Francisco.
Salesforce also reaffirmed its commitment to San Francisco with a five-year multibillion-dollar plan. But the incident could have lasting effects: Activism and donor-backlash within tech are intensifying, and boards could face increased political scrutiny of leadership.
