S. Ryan Smith is an American billionaire businessman. He is the executive chairman and co-founder of

Qualtrics Qualtrics is an American experience management company, with co-headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and Provo, Utah, in the United States. The company was founded in 2002 by Scott M. Smith, Ryan Smith, Jared Smith, and Stuart Orgill. Qualtri ...

, an

experience management Experience management is an effort by organizations to measure and improve the experiences they provide to customers as well as stakeholders like vendors, suppliers, employees, and shareholders. The concept posits the notion that experiences comp ...

company based in Provo, Utah, United States. In 2016, he was included in ''Fortune'''s "

40 Under 40 ''Fortune'' magazine's 40 Under 40 is a list of individuals the publication considers to be the most influential young leaders for the year. The list has existed in two phases: First, from 1999 to 2003, the list was presented purely as a numeric ...

". Ryan Smith is a partial shareholder of two professional sports teams: the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the NBA and

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. In October 2020, Smith agreed to purchase the

from the Miller family for US$1.66 billion, and on December 18, the NBA's Board of Governors unanimously approved the transfer of ownership. In January 2022,

David Blitzer David Scott Blitzer (born September 7, 1969) is an American private equity investor and sports team owner. A native of New Jersey, he graduated from the Wharton School and joined Blackstone Inc in 1991, where he serves as head of their Tactic ...

and Smith Entertainment Group agreed to purchase

Early life and education

Smith was born in Eugene, Oregon. His father, Scott M. Smith, worked as a university professor and is one of the co-founders of Qualtrics. Ryan's mother, Nancy Smith Hill, holds a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in information systems and is an entrepreneur. While he was attending

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

’s

Marriott School of Business The Marriott School of Business is the business school of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1891 and renamed ...

, he founded Qualtrics with his father, and his brother, Jared Smith. During his junior year he dropped out of school to spend more time working on Qualtrics, though he eventually returned to school and finished his degree in 2016.

Sports team ownership

Utah Jazz

On October 28, 2020, Gail Miller announced that Smith had agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Utah Jazz NBA franchise. The purchase agreement also included

Vivint Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

, the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. As of the 2022-23 season, the Stars play in the Maverik Center in West Valley City, U ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

, and management of the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

. Miller had previously put the team into a legacy trust with the objective of keeping the Jazz in Utah. As part of the announcement, Miller stated, "I am fully persuaded that with this sale, the objectives of the trust will be honored, and the new owners have made the same commitment to keep the team in Utah."

Real Salt Lake

Smith, along with New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner David S. Blitzer, were announced as the new majority owners of Major League Soccer club

in January 2022. The club had been sold by former owner

Dell Loy Hansen Dell Loy Hansen (born ) is an American businessman and sports team owner. He is the founder and CEO of Wasatch Group, a real estate investment firm, and was the owner of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Career Hansen was born in Salin ...

following controversial comments on civil rights protests by athletes made in 2020. Smith had publicly expressed interest in buying the club as early as September 2020, but delayed further negotiations to instead pursue the Jazz.

Wealth

As of September 2021, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' estimated Smith's net worth at $1.6 billion.

Personal life

Smith is married to Ashley. They live together in Provo, Utah with their five children. Smith is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

and spent two years in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ryan 21st-century American businesspeople American technology chief executives American billionaires American technology company founders Businesspeople from Utah Marriott School of Management alumni Living people National Basketball Association owners Utah Jazz personnel Businesspeople from Eugene, Oregon People from Provo, Utah Major League Soccer owners Real Salt Lake owners 1978 births