Adam Miller (businessman)

Adam Miller
Education
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • investor
  • philanthropist
Political party
Democrat Party
SpouseStaci Miller

Adam Miller is an American tech entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of education software company Cornerstone OnDemand. He's also the founder of the Los Angeles-based homelessness non-profit Better Angels, and is active with a variety of non-profit and philanthropic initiatives. In 2026, he ran as a candidate for the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election, where he lives.

Early life and education

Miller was born in New York.[1] He grew up in the Flanders section of Mount Olive Township, New Jersey.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.[1] He later attended UCLA School of Law, earning a JD, and also earned an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.[1] He also became a certified public accountant.[1] After graduating, Miller took a two-year trip around the world.[3]

Business career

When Miller returned from his trip, he worked as an investment banker, a consultant, and in a boutique law firm.[4][2]

Cornerstone OnDemand

In 1999, Miller and two cofounders launched Cornerstone OnDemand, a cloud-based development software provider and learning technology company. Miller served as CEO from 1999 to 2020.[5] The company went public in 2011,[6] and by 2012, the company reported 8.2 million subscribers in 180 countries.[1] The company was acquired in 2021 by private equity firm Clearlake Capital for $5.2 billion.[7]

Better Angels

Better Angels is an umbrella for several of Miller's initiatives to help the homeless in Los Angeles.[8] After driving his son home from school and noticing several homeless encampments, Miller developed the idea of Better Angels with his wife, Staci.[2] They studied homelessness in Los Angeles, to understand why the money being spent wasn't working.[2] They decided to self-fund their objective to construct affordable housing projects, without relying too heavily on outside investment.[2] As of December 2025, the nonprofit had 30 employees, 1,000 volunteers and a $300 million investment fund.[2] As of 2026, it was developing two privately financed affordable housing projects: a 51-unit property in South Los Angeles, and a 72-unit modular development in Westchester, near Los Angeles International Airport.[2] “What we’re trying to do is prove . . . that the private sector can make money in the affordable housing arena,” Miller says.[2]

Better Angels also conducts outreach programs in LA County to help homeless people access services, and develops mobile apps to help homeless people find shelters.[8]

Other work

After leaving Cornerstone, Miller founded relationship management platform Instil.[9] The company develops software to help non-profits operate better.[5] He founded LA-tech.org, a nonprofit coalition of LA’s top tech companies formed to expand opportunities for underserved communities in Los Angeles. The company finds tech company internships for LA students of color, and as of May 2026, the organization had filled 2,000 internships.[10][11] Miller also served as Chairman of El Segundo, CA-based disaster response organization Team Rubicon.[12] He merged the two nonprofits, Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and the Food Allergy Initiative, into Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), one of the largest nonprofits focused on food allergies.[2] He sits on FARE's board of directors. He is also managing director for Allerfund, reportedly the first fund focusing on food allergy companies.[13]

Political activity

Miller is a lifelong Democrat.[14] In 2026, he announced he was running for Mayor of Los Angeles, as a centrist.[15][11] His platform included finding more efficient and cost effective ways to bring services to residents, including eliminating overlapping services.[14] Miller finished in fourth place, and incumbent Karen Bass and her opponent Nithya Raman advanced to the November election.[16]

Personal life

Miller is married to wife Staci, and has with three children.[8][1] They live in Los Angeles.

Philanthropy

Miller founded 1P Foundation (short for One Planet) with his wife, Staci as chief executive. 1P is a philanthropic foundation that conducts research, advocacy and social impact investing, with a focus on gun safety research.[8] Miller also founded the Short-Term Eviction Prevention Fund, to provide non-punitive micro loans to reduce homelessness.[17] The latter initiative operates as part of Better Angels.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How fatherhood helped Adam Miller get serious about helping Cornerstone OnDemand reach its potential". Smart Business. October 1, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jordan, Karen (December 22, 2025). "Better Angels: Los Angeles Nonprofit Cofounded by Tech Entrepreneur Offers Affordable Housing Solutions". Urban Land. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  3. ↑ Stettner, Morey (May 25, 2012). "Before Starting A Business, Adam Miller Hit The Road". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Adam Miller". Los Angeles Business Journal. July 30, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Austin, Ellie (August 10, 2023). "Meet Adam Miller, whose latest venture is a tech platform to help nonprofits". Fortune. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ Anders, George (August 10, 2025). "Spurned By Silicon Valley In '05, Cornerstone's Miller Laughs Last". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ Rubio-Licht, Nat (August 9, 2021). "Clearlake Capital to Buy Cornerstone OnDemand for $5.2 Billion". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Doug (July 20, 2025). "A tech entrepreneur vows to make homeless housing affordable and profitable". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  9. ↑ "LA500 2024: Adam Miller". Los Angeles Business Journal. June 3, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  10. ↑ Hetrick, Christian (January 17, 2024). "Adam Miller's Second Act". dot.la. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Kerpen, Dave (May 4, 2026). "He Built a Multibillion-Dollar Tech Giant. Now He's Running for Mayor to Fix a 'Broken' City Using a Founder's Playbook". Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ Perez, Rafael (March 26, 2026). "Rafael Perez: Adam Miller promises to bring back sensible solutions to Los Angeles". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  13. ↑ "FARE Boards - FoodAllergy.org". www.foodallergy.org. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Brewster, Tabor (April 2, 2026). "Adam Miller wants to fix a 'broken' L.A." Beverly Press. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  15. ↑ Goldberg, Noah (March 28, 2026). "Adam Miller's $2-million question: How much will he spend on his mayoral campaign?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Mayor Karen Bass heading to November runoff; Silver Lake's Nithya Raman trailing in third". The Eastsider LA. June 2, 2026.
  17. ↑ Smith, Doug (October 22, 2022). "No-interest micro loans: Philanthropist's new tool in preventing homelessness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
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