Ron Conway, founding father of SV Angel, speaks throughout the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2015 convention in New York on Could 4, 2015.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Days after suggesting that President Donald Trump ought to ship federal troops to San Francisco, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is going through some penalties.
Distinguished startup investor Ron Conway, who backed corporations together with Google, Airbnb and Stripe, resigned from the board of the Salesforce Basis on Thursday, CNBC has confirmed. Conway is a longtime Democratic donor who was a member of VCs for Kamala, and donated round $500,000 to not less than two funds tied to Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful 2024 election marketing campaign.
The New York Instances was first to report on Conway’s departure from the Salesforce Basis. A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed his exit in an e-mailed assertion.
“We now have deep gratitude for Ron Conway and his unbelievable contributions to the Salesforce Basis Board for over a decade,” the spokesperson stated, noting that the group has donated, “$250 million to public faculties and training nonprofits to advance alternative and entry for younger individuals, together with $30 million introduced this week.”
The Trump administration just lately deployed the Nationwide Guard to Portland, Oregon and Chicago, sparking protests and lawsuits and leading to residents and immigrants being detained with out authorized illustration.
In a story printed late final week within the New York Instances, Benioff indicated that he would welcome troops to San Francisco, house to Salesforce. The corporate’s annual Dreamforce convention started in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday.
“We do not have sufficient cops, so if they are often cops, I am all for it,” Benioff instructed the Instances.
Benioff later appeared to stroll again his feedback, writing on X that security is “in the beginning, the accountability of our metropolis and state leaders.” Nevertheless, by that time Tesla CEO Elon Musk and different right-wing figures had seized on his authentic feedback, amplifying them to their audiences.
Musk, who has drawn criticism for his private drug use, characterised downtown San Francisco as a “drug zombie apocalypse.”
Based on the Instances, Conway instructed Benioff in an e-mail that their “values have been now not aligned.” Whereas Benioff has donated to members of each events, he has supported Democrats for president, together with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Conway is founder and managing companion of SV Angel, an early-stage enterprise agency. He has lengthy been an advocate for tech in San Francisco, having based commerce group sf.citi and serving to begin FWD.us, which targeted on immigration reform.
The Salesforce Basis is not his solely connection to Benioff’s philanthropic efforts. Conway can be a big donor to the UCSF Benioff Kids’s Hospital.
Conway did not reply to a request for remark.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco leaders on Wednesday issued statements and held press conferences to ship the message that federal troops should not welcome within the metropolis, and that crime is coming down.
Conway has supported Newsom, together with in 2021, when he opposed a recall effort in opposition to the Democratic governor.
WATCH: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sits down with Jim Cramer at Dreamforce 2025
