Venture capital legend Ron Conway resigned from Salesforce after Benioff’s comments to the National Guard

Ron Conway, founder of venture firm SV Angel, known for its early investments in Google, Airbnb and Meta, has resigned from the Salesforce Foundation, the New York Times reported. The resignation came after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said last week that he “fully supports” President Trump and believes National Guard troops should be patrolling the streets of San Francisco.

Conway has been on the board of the Salesforce Foundation, whose mission is to support education and workforce development for underserved youth, for a decade. The New York Times reported that the charitable organization donated $36 million in 2023, and ended that year with $400 million in assets, according to tax filings.

Benioff and Conway have been friends for 25 years and have shared left-leaning political views for the majority of that time. But the Salesforce CEO’s current ideological views bothered Conway.

“I am deeply saddened to say that with your recent comments, and the failure to understand their impact, I now barely recognize the person I have long admired,” Conway wrote Thursday in an email to Benioff obtained by The New York Times.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Benioff praised Elon Musk’s government efficiency efforts and said he had not been following reports of immigration raids or Trump’s attacks on the press. This is despite Benioff owning Time magazine, which he bought in 2018.

Benioff is one of several prominent tech leaders and investors who, despite previously supporting the Democratic Party, have now expressed 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.