Marc Benioff’s call for troops in SF leads tech investor Ron Conway to leave Salesforce Foundation board

Days after suggesting that President Donald Trump should send federal troops to San Francisco, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is facing some consequences.

Prominent startup investor Ron Conway, who backed companies including Google, Airbnb and Stripe, resigned from the board of the Salesforce Foundation on Thursday, CNBC has confirmed. Conway is a longtime Democratic donor who was a member of VCs for Kamala, and donated around $500,000 to at least two funds tied to Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful 2024 election campaign.

The New York Times was first to report on Conway’s departure from the Salesforce Foundation. A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed his exit in an e-mailed statement.

“We have deep gratitude for Ron Conway and his incredible contributions to the Salesforce Foundation Board for over a decade,” the spokesperson said, noting that the group has donated, “$250 million to public schools and education nonprofits to advance opportunity and access for young people, including $30 million announced this week.”

The Trump administration recently deployed the National Guard to Portland, Oregon and Chicago, sparking protests and lawsuits and resulting in citizens and immigrants being detained without legal representation.

In a story published late last week in the New York Times, Benioff indicated that he would welcome troops to San Francisco, home to Salesforce. The company’s annual Dreamforce conference began in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday.

“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” Benioff told the Times.

Benioff later appeared to walk back his comments, writing on X that safety is “first and foremost, the responsibility of our city and state leaders.” However, by that point Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other right-wing figures had seized on his original comments, amplifying them to their audiences.

Musk, who has drawn criticism for his personal drug use, characterized downtown San Francisco as a “drug zombie apocalypse.” And on Wednesday, Trump called San Francisco “a mess,” and suggested possibly sending in the National Guard.

According to the Times, Conway told Benioff in an email that their “values were no longer aligned.” While Benioff has donated to members of both parties, he has supported Democrats for president, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

Conway is founder and managing partner of SV Angel, an early-stage venture firm. He has long been an advocate for tech in San Francisco, having founded trade organization sf.citi and helping start FWD.us, which focused on immigration reform.

The Salesforce Foundation isn’t his only connection to Benioff’s philanthropic efforts. Conway is also a large donor to the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Conway didn’t respond to a request for comment.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco leaders on Wednesday issued statements and held press conferences to deliver the message that federal troops are not welcome in the city, and that crime is coming down.

Conway has supported Newsom, including in 2021, when he opposed a recall effort against the Democratic governor.

WATCH: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sits down with Jim Cramer at Dreamforce 2025