Who Are the Founders of Qualtrics
Qualtrics was co-founded in 2002 by Scott M. Smith and Ryan R. Smith, who are brothers. The company originated in Provo, Utah, before relocating its headquarters to Seattle, Washington. Scott Smith serves as the Executive Chairman, while Ryan Smith became the Chief Executive Officer and led the company through its growth into a major experience management platform. The founders built Qualtrics around capturing and analyzing customer and employee experience data. Forbes reported on Ryan Smith's leadership and the company's early focus on survey-based experience data.
The founding team later expanded to include Jared R. Smith and Stuart D. Orgill as co-founders or early key executives. Jared Smith contributed to the company's product and data science direction, while Stuart Orgill helped scale the enterprise sales organization. The Smith brothers structured Qualtrics as a private company for most of its history, funding growth through revenue and later large private investments. SEC filings related to Qualtrics' private financing rounds and corporate structure provide details on the company's ownership and governance.
Qualtrics Founders' Roles and Company Growth
Ryan Smith remained CEO from the company's early days through its transition to a public company. Under his leadership, Qualtrics expanded from a survey tool into a full experience management platform covering customer, employee, product, and brand experience. The company grew its customer base to tens of thousands of organizations across multiple industries and regions. Forbes covered Ryan Smith's strategy for scaling Qualtrics and the company's product expansion.
Scott Smith focused on long-term vision, board-level strategy, and external partnerships as Executive Chairman. The founders emphasized a product-led growth approach combined with enterprise sales, helping Qualtrics achieve high revenue run rates before its first public listing. Qualtrics went public via a direct listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2020, with its shares trading under the ticker symbol XM. SEC documents from the Qualtrics direct listing provide details on share structure, risk factors, and financial highlights.
Current Ownership and Leadership After the Founders
In 2021, SAP SE completed its acquisition of Qualtrics, making the company a subsidiary of the German software giant. Ryan Smith continued as CEO of Qualtrics under SAP ownership, while the Smith brothers retained significant equity and board influence. The acquisition valued Qualtrics at over $10 billion, reflecting the company's revenue scale and market position in experience management software. Forbes provided analysis on the SAP-Qualtrics deal and the founders' role in the transaction.
Today, Qualtrics operates as part of SAP's business technology portfolio, with Ryan Smith