Gordon Ritter

Gordon Ritter

Formal First Name
Gordon

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.

Professional Experience


Academic History

CURRENT AFFILIATIONS


EMERGENCE CAPITAL

  • 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


MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS