Robert F. Smith is founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. In 2019, he eliminated the student debt of 400 Morehouse College graduates, and later founded the Student Freedom Initiative to relieve debt for STEM students at all HBCUs. Prior to starting Vista Equity in 2000, Smith worked at Goldman Sachs, Kraft General Foods, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber. He is chairman of Carnegie Hall, founding director and president of the Fund II Foundation, and on the board of the Business Roundtable. Smith was named to the TIME 100 list in 2020, and Forbes recognized him as one of its 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.