Gordon Ritter is the Founder and General Partner of Emergence Capital, a leading venture capital firm focused on enterprise technology companies. He led the firm’s first investment, which was in Salesforce, and played a key role in Veeva Systems' development. Prior to founding Emergence, Ritter spent over 15 years founding and building companies which pioneered new markets including embedded web-based interfaces, server appliances, "on demand" services for the SMB market and web-native application development. He ran IBM's $3 billion global small business division, and was Founder and President of Whistle Communications. Ritter is also a dedicated philanthropist.
Gordon Ritter Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
Academic History
CURRENT AFFILIATIONS
Chairman of the Board, Veeva Systems
Board of Trustees, Princeton University
Board of Directors, Princeton University Investment Company
Board Member, Bland
Board Member, Hi Marley
Board Member, Guru
Board Member, Textio
Ritter led Emergence's first major investment in a fledgling cloud computing company called Salesforce, a decision that cemented the firm’s reputation as an early leader in enterprise software.
Today, Veeva boasts a $35 billion market cap, and Gordon remains its Chairman of the Board. He was instrumental in Veeva’s decision to become the first publicly traded company to convert to a Public Benefit Corporation.
Some of his notable investments also include Zoom, Bill.com, Textio, Guru, Chorus, Insightly, Lithium, Box, Yammer, and SuccessFactors.
EARLY CAREER
Prior to Emergence, Ritter ran IBM's $3 billion global small business division, created as a result of IBM's acquisition of his company, Whistle Communications, in 1999.
He also invested in Lithium Technologies, another large private company, and Ketera (acquired by Rearden Commerce in 2010).
He co-founded Software As Service, with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, which became the foundation for the Salesforce Platform.
He is also a dedicated philanthropist, supporting organizations like the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Common Sense Media, and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
RECOGNITIONS
Forbes Midas List - Venture Capital Investors, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2025
New York Times/CB Insights' Top Venture Capitalists
MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
Ritter has been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and more.
He has also been featured in TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and Real Vision.