Ryan Smith | $1B+
Get in touch with Ryan Smith | Ryan Smith, cofounder and executive chairman of Qualtrics, built one of the most influential enterprise software companies of the cloud era by turning experience data into a core business discipline. Starting Qualtrics in his parents’ basement in Utah, Smith scaled it into a global platform used by corporations and governments to measure customer, employee, and brand experience. After selling Qualtrics to SAP in a blockbuster deal, he later guided its public market return and continued expanding the product vision around analytics and decision intelligence. Smith is also a high-profile sports owner, leading the ownership group of the Utah Jazz and investing heavily in community and innovation initiatives.
Ryan Smith (born September 22, 1978) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, software executive, and sports team owner best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Qualtrics, a leading provider of experience management software.[1] Raised in Provo, Utah, Smith grew up in a family deeply involved in business and academia; his father, Scott M. Smith, was a marketing professor at Brigham Young University (BYU), where Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Marriott School of Business in 2002.[1][2]
In 2002, while still a student at BYU, Smith co-founded Qualtrics in his family's basement alongside his father, Scott, and brother, Jared Smith, initially to develop tools for creating and analyzing customer feedback surveys.[1][3] Under Ryan's leadership as CEO, Qualtrics expanded into a comprehensive cloud-based platform for employee, customer, and brand experience management, growing to serve over 18,000 customers worldwide by 2019.[4] The company achieved unicorn status in 2017 and was acquired by SAP in a landmark all-cash deal valued at $8 billion in 2019, marking one of the largest software acquisitions by a U.S. public company at the time.[1] Following the acquisition, Smith transitioned to executive chairman while Qualtrics operated as a standalone subsidiary; it was later spun out as a public company in 2021 before being taken private again in a $12.5 billion buyout led by Silver Lake in 2023.[1]
Beyond Qualtrics, Smith has emerged as a prominent figure in Utah's "Silicon Slopes" tech ecosystem, contributing to the region's rise as a hub for software innovation through investments and philanthropy.[5] In October 2020, he led a group to acquire the NBA's Utah Jazz franchise from the Miller family for $1.66 billion, becoming the team's principal owner and governor with a vision to enhance community ties and fan experiences in Salt Lake City.[6] Smith has since expanded his sports portfolio, acquiring the NHL's Utah Mammoth (formerly Utah Hockey Club) in 2024. As of November 2025, his net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, primarily derived from his Qualtrics stake and sports investments.[1] A devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith is married with five children and resides in Provo, where he supports local education and entrepreneurship initiatives.[1] In April 2025, he co-launched HXCO, a $1 billion venture fund focused on sports, media, and entertainment startups.[7]
Early life and education
Early life
Ryan Smith was born on June 28, 1978, in Eugene, Oregon.[8] He grew up in Eugene during his early years, in a family deeply rooted in academia and research. His father, Scott M. Smith, was a professor of marketing who lectured at the University of Oregon before spending over 30 years at Brigham Young University, specializing in market research methodologies that often involved data collection and analysis.[8][9] His mother, Nancy Smith Hill, held a PhD in information systems and worked as an entrepreneur, contributing to a household environment that emphasized intellectual pursuits and technological innovation.[10]
Smith has an older brother, Jared Smith, with whom he shared a close sibling relationship amid their family's focus on education and problem-solving. The brothers' upbringing in an academically oriented home exposed them to concepts in data management and research tools from a young age, as their parents' professional work frequently involved surveys and information systems. This familial emphasis on analytical thinking and technology laid foundational influences, with early exposure to their father's research projects hinting at future interests in software solutions for data gathering.[8][11]
Smith dropped out of high school and, at the age of 17 in 1995, moved to South Korea for a period to teach English, an experience that broadened his worldview and taught him resilience through early entrepreneurial hustles like distributing flyers for tutoring.[12] This was followed by a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico City from 1997 to 1999. The family relocated to Utah around the early 2000s when his father joined Brigham Young University, preceding his enrollment there.[8]
Education
Ryan Smith was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1978.[13]
Following high school, Smith served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico City, beginning at age 19 in 1997, which delayed his higher education and shaped his early adulthood timeline.[7][14]
After completing his mission, Smith enrolled at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the late 1990s, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in management at the Marriott School of Business.[15] His coursework in business and marketing provided foundational knowledge that influenced the early conceptualization and development of experience management software.[16]
In 2001, Smith returned from an internship at Hewlett-Packard in California to Provo after his father's cancer diagnosis. In 2002, during his junior year, Smith paused his studies to dedicate more time to entrepreneurial pursuits—specifically, co-founding Qualtrics with his family—effectively dropping out temporarily.[12][4] He later returned to BYU and completed his degree in 2016, marking the culmination of a prolonged academic journey interrupted by business commitments.[17]
Business career
Qualtrics
Ryan Smith co-founded Qualtrics in 2002 alongside his father, Scott Smith, and brother, Jared Smith, while attending Brigham Young University (BYU). The company initially developed experience management software, beginning as an online survey tool designed for market research and academic purposes, which addressed the limitations of paper-based surveys by enabling real-time data collection and analysis. Drawing from their family's entrepreneurial background, the Smiths bootstrapped the venture, focusing on simplicity and scalability to serve universities and businesses.
Under Ryan Smith's leadership as CEO, Qualtrics experienced significant growth, expanding beyond surveys into a comprehensive platform for customer experience (XM) management, which positioned it as a leader in the category. The company scaled rapidly, growing its employee base to over 3,000 and achieving annual recurring revenue exceeding $400 million by 2019, through innovations like AI-driven insights and integrations for employee, product, and brand experience tracking. This expansion attracted major clients across industries, solidifying Qualtrics' role in helping organizations measure and improve customer interactions at scale.
In 2019, SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion in an all-cash deal, marking one of the largest software acquisitions in history and catapulting Ryan Smith into billionaire status. Smith remained with the company as executive chairman following the acquisition, guiding its integration into SAP's ecosystem while maintaining operational independence. In 2021, Qualtrics spun off from SAP through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq, valuing the company at approximately $15 billion and allowing it to operate as a standalone public entity. In 2023, Qualtrics was taken private in a $12.5 billion buyout led by Silver Lake, with Smith continuing as executive chairman.[18]
Today, Qualtrics remains headquartered in Provo, Utah, where it continues to innovate in experience management, with Ryan Smith serving as executive chairman. The company's platform now supports over 18,000 customers worldwide as of 2025, emphasizing data-driven decision-making for enhanced user experiences across various touchpoints.[19]
Smith Entertainment Group
Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) was established in late 2020 by Ryan Smith and his wife Ashley as a holding company to oversee their growing portfolio of sports and entertainment assets, coinciding with their purchase of the Utah Jazz. The creation of SEG was enabled by Ryan Smith's wealth from the 2019 acquisition of Qualtrics by SAP for $8 billion. Smith serves as chairman and CEO of the organization, guiding its strategic direction in sports management and venue operations.
SEG's scope encompasses the management of professional sports teams, including the NBA's Utah Jazz and the NHL's Utah Mammoth, along with affiliated assets such as the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League and the Delta Center arena in Salt Lake City. The group also handles related media and real estate properties, such as SEG Media and The Shops at South Town, focusing primarily on Utah-based investments to enhance local sports and entertainment ecosystems.
A major initiative under SEG involves the multi-year renovation of the Delta Center, which began with upgrades in 2024 and expanded in 2025 to create a state-of-the-art, dual-purpose venue accommodating both basketball and hockey with increased seating capacity up to 17,000 for hockey games. Complementing this, SEG is spearheading the development of a sports, entertainment, culture, and convention district in downtown Salt Lake City, initially proposed in early 2024 and advancing through 2025 with key approvals and partnerships, including a planned 6,000-seat indoor music venue in collaboration with Live Nation. Financially, SEG integrates Smith's sports holdings, which collectively reached an estimated valuation of $5.5 billion by 2024, reflecting significant appreciation from initial investments exceeding $3 billion across its teams and venues.
Other ventures
In April 2025, Ryan Smith co-founded the Halo Experience Company (HXCO), also referred to as the Halo Fund, alongside investor Ryan Sweeney, a partner at Accel who had previously backed Qualtrics. The venture is structured as a $1 billion growth-stage fund dedicated to investing in sports technology, live event experiences, and innovations that enhance consumer interactions in these domains. Within two months of its launch, HXCO had secured commitments totaling $875 million from limited partners, positioning it as a significant player in the intersection of technology and entertainment. The fund's inaugural major investment came in October 2025, when it completed a strategic secondary transaction in 1Password, a leading password management and cybersecurity firm. HXCO acquired a $75 million stake from 1Password's founders, valuing the company at approximately $6.8 billion and marking the fund's entry into secure digital experience technologies. This move underscores the fund's strategy to support growth-stage companies that improve user trust and engagement, areas informed by Smith's background in experience management at Qualtrics.
Smith's post-Qualtrics ventures reflect his continued influence in technology and innovation, building on earlier recognition for his entrepreneurial achievements. In 2016, he was named to Fortune's "40 Under 40" list, honoring his role in scaling Qualtrics into a global leader in customer experience software. Through HXCO, Smith has extended his focus to emerging opportunities in tech-driven experiences beyond traditional software.
Sports team ownership
Utah Jazz
On October 28, 2020, Ryan Smith agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Utah Jazz from the Gail Miller family for $1.66 billion, with the transaction receiving unanimous approval from the NBA Board of Governors on December 18, 2020.[20][21] The deal, funded in part by proceeds from the 2019 sale of Qualtrics to SAP, also encompassed the team's home arena, then known as Vivint Smart Home Arena, and its G League affiliate.[22][23]
Smith holds the franchise through his Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), which assumed operational control of the arena—renamed Delta Center in January 2023 following the end of a naming rights deal—and has overseen multi-phase renovations starting in April 2025 to modernize it as a dual-sport venue.[24][25] Under Smith's ownership, the Jazz shifted toward a rebuilding phase after reaching the playoffs in his first season (2020-21), with subsequent years marked by lottery finishes, including a 31–51 record in the 2023–24 season, a league-worst 17–65 record in the 2024–25 season, and continued draft-focused strategies to stockpile young talent like Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler.[26][27] In June 2021, Smith hired Danny Ainge as CEO of basketball operations to guide this long-term vision.[28]
Rebranding efforts have been a hallmark of Smith's tenure, beginning with a 2022 shift to black-and-yellow uniforms that faced significant fan backlash and was partially reversed within a year.[29] In June 2024, the team unveiled a new identity inspired by Utah's mountains, featuring mountain purple, midnight black, and sky blue colors with updated logos and jerseys set to debut in the 2025-26 season, emphasizing local heritage after extensive fan input.[30][31] Community initiatives have included the Utah Jazz Foundation, launched shortly after the acquisition, which awards college scholarships for every team win—resulting in over 100 recipients by 2025—and the broader SEG Foundation established in October 2024 to support education, health, and economic development in Utah.[32][33] In October 2025, SEG announced plans for a state-of-the-art Jazz practice facility in Sandy, Utah, further integrating team operations with community growth.[34]
The Jazz ownership has significantly bolstered Smith's wealth, contributing to his estimated net worth of $2.6 billion as of November 2025, per Forbes rankings, amid the franchise's rising valuation and SEG's expanded sports portfolio.[1][35]
Utah Mammoth
On April 18, 2024, Ryan Smith, through his company Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), acquired the hockey-related assets of the Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion, thereby securing an NHL expansion franchise for Utah.[36][37] This transaction, approved by the NHL Board of Governors, relocated the franchise to Salt Lake City and marked Utah's entry into professional ice hockey.[38]
The franchise began operations under the temporary name Utah Hockey Club for the 2024-25 season, allowing time for branding development while competing in the league.[39] On May 7, 2025, SEG announced the official rebranding to the Utah Mammoth, selected to reflect Utah's prehistoric heritage and natural landscape, complete with new logos and uniforms designed in collaboration with Doubleday & Cartwright.[40][41]
The Utah Mammoth play home games at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on an interim basis, with SEG undertaking a multi-year renovation project starting in April 2025 to convert the arena into a dual-sport facility optimized for both NHL hockey and NBA basketball.[42] This includes innovative features like a custom riser seating system that adjusts between 80 risers for basketball and 68 for hockey, eliminating obstructed views and enhancing sightlines.[43] Long-term developments encompass a state-of-the-art practice and training facility in Sandy, Utah, which opened in September 2025 after just 13 months of construction, featuring two full-size ice rinks, medical suites, and community spaces.[44][45]
Under Smith's vision, the Utah Mammoth are integrated into SEG's broader portfolio to foster a unified sports ecosystem in Utah, emphasizing community building and fan engagement.[46] In 2025, initiatives included launching the Junior Mammoth youth hockey program—modeled after the successful Junior Jazz—to grow participation, alongside a $10 million donation commitment to local hockey development and events like a TopGolf fundraiser for the SEG Foundation.[47][48] These efforts aim to cultivate generational fandom and position Utah as a premier hockey market.[49]
Real Salt Lake
In January 2022, Ryan Smith, through his Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), partnered with investor David Blitzer to acquire Real Salt Lake from previous owner Dell Loy Hansen for an undisclosed amount, reported by multiple outlets as approximately $400 million.[50][51] This purchase integrated the Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise into SEG's portfolio alongside the Utah Jazz during Smith's active ownership period.[52]
A key contribution from Smith's involvement was the reestablishment of the Utah Royals women's team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In March 2023, the NWSL awarded expansion rights to Utah, with Smith and Blitzer as principal owners, reviving the dormant franchise to begin play in the 2024 season and expanding professional women's soccer in the state.[53][54] During ownership, Smith supported enhancements to Real Salt Lake's facilities, including upgrades to America First Field for improved fan experience and operational efficiency, alongside broader advocacy for MLS growth and infrastructure development in Utah.[55][56]
In April 2025, Smith sold his minority interest in Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals back to Gail Miller and the Larry H. Miller Company for a reported $600 million as part of a larger transaction that returned controlling ownership to the Miller family.[55][51] This divestment concluded Smith's three-year tenure with the club, allowing him to refocus on other SEG priorities while ensuring soccer's continued presence in Utah under familiar stewardship.[57]
Personal life
Family
Ryan Smith is married to Ashley Smith, a Utah native who was born in Salt Lake City and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple has shared a long-term partnership for nearly two decades and together they have five children.[58][59]
The Smith family resides in Provo, Utah, as of 2025, where they prioritize a private family life and the well-being of their children, whose names and details are not publicly disclosed.[1][12]
Ashley Smith supports her husband's endeavors through active involvement in philanthropy, including co-leading a $20 million donation in 2022 to expand pediatric cancer research at Primary Children's Hospital.[60]
Religion and community involvement
Ryan Smith is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission for the church in Mexico City during the early 2000s, an experience that shaped his early adulthood before he returned to pursue higher education and entrepreneurship.[61][7]
Smith's faith informs his community involvement in Utah, where he supports Brigham Young University through donations and active participation. As a BYU alumnus from the Marriott School of Business, he serves as a frequent guest lecturer and provides support to the institution, emphasizing its role in supporting families during challenging times. His philanthropic efforts also reflect LDS values of service, particularly in health and education; through the 5 for the Fight foundation he co-founded in 2016, Smith has directed significant funding toward cancer research and pediatric care at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital, including a $20 million donation in 2022 to expand treatments and create family support centers.[9][62][63]
In broader community roles, Smith engages with Utah-based initiatives tied to his faith networks, such as participating in Silicon Slopes events that blend business and religious discourse. As of 2025, he and his wife Ashley have expanded these efforts via the Smith Entertainment Group Foundation, launching Utah's largest scholarship program to aid students in education and workforce development, fostering community growth in line with LDS principles of self-reliance and service. Smith resides in Provo, a central hub for the LDS community, which facilitates his ongoing ties to local cultural and philanthropic networks.
Disclaimer: This profile is based on publicly available information. No endorsement or affiliation is implied.
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