About
Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. In this piece he shares the firm's outlook on how enterprise software is shifting from tools toward agentic solutions in the age of AI.
Invests in
Enterprise SoftwareSaaS
Experience
- Vista Equity PartnersFounder, Chairman and CEOcurrent2000 — presentAustin, Texas Metropolitan Area
- Goldman SachsCo-Head of Enterprise Systems and Storage1994 — 2000
- Kraft FoodsTechnical Manager1990 — 1994
- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber CompanyEngineer1986 — 1988
- Nokia Bell LabsIntern1980 — 1984
Education
- Columbia Business SchoolMaster of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Finance1992 — 1994
- Cornell Duffield College of EngineeringBachelor’s Degree, Chemical Engineering
Colleagues at Vista Equity Partners
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Robert F. Smith work?
- Robert F. Smith is Founder, Chairman and CEO at Vista Equity Partners.
- What does Robert F. Smith invest in?
- Robert F. Smith invests in Enterprise Software, SaaS.
Founder mafias
Goldman Sachs mafia235
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Fred EhrsamTraderFounded CoinbaseMatt HuangSummer AnalystFounded HotspotsDavid WhelanM&AFounded Strive Health +2Spencer RascoffInvestment BankerFounded HeyLibby +2Gordon WintrobSummer Analyst, Investment BankingFounded Newfrontinsurance +2James SteinbergAnalyst/DeveloperFounded OpenShelf +2
+ 228 more
Columbia Business School mafia59
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Martin VarsavskyMBAFounded Certuma +3Thomas HendrixMBAFounded Decisive Point +1Drew PattersonMBAFounded Walkway +1Neal GoldmanMaster of Business Administration (MBA)Founded FindCenter +1Nimish ShahMBAFounded Apogee Therapeutics +1Andrew GottesdienerMaster of Business Administration (M.B.A.)Founded Apogee Therapeutics +1
.jpg)
+ 52 more
Cornell Duffield College of Engineering mafia3
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Vista Equity Partners mafia3
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Columbia Business School638
Aryo TehranianManaging Director at Mayfair Equity PartnersYibo NianInvestment Director at Intel CapitalKesha CashFounder & General Partner at Impact America FundMahati SridharPartner, Rise of the Rest at RevolutionGiuseppe IademarcoHead of Global Partnership at P101 VenturesWendy XiaoPartner at Northzone
+ 632 more
Also attended Cornell Duffield College of Engineering3
Shared employers
Also worked at Goldman Sachs1,440
Josh KushnerFounder & CEO of Thrive CapitalSarah GuoFounder & General Partner of ConvictionFred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmNiki PezeshkiGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesChris BischoffInvestment Team at General Catalyst
.jpg)
+ 1,434 more
Also worked at Kraft Foods1
Also worked at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company8
Matt SteinChief Information Officer at Flare Capital PartnersPrabhakar JainChief Strategy and Business Development Officer - Pioneering Businesses at Pidilite Industries LimitedGabriela MauchOperating Advisor at Elsewhere PartnersBrian GoodallFounder, First Garden City Consulting at iFly.vcJoe HinrichsVenture Partner at Fraser McCombs CapitalAna OlivánOperations Director at TheVentureCity
.png)
+ 2 more
Also worked at Nokia Bell Labs31
Jim McCormickFounder, First Manhattan Consulting at MissionOGRajesh SwaminathanInvestor at Khosla VenturesMoreno BonaventuraLead Machine Learning Engineer at Inreach VenturesTroy A. LeMaile-StovallCEO at Maryland TEDCOAlex DulinChief Operating Officer at The Innovation SpaceIndra SinghalOperating Partner at EMERGENT VENTURES
+ 25 more