Gregory Richard Gianforte ( JEE-ən-FOR-tay; born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021. In 1997, Gianforte and his wife, Susan, co-founded RightNow Technologies, a customer relationship management software company. The company went public in 2004; by that time, it employed over 1,000 workers. RightNow Technologies was acquired by Oracle Corporation for $1.5 billion in 2011.In 2016, Gianforte ran for governor of Montana as the Republican nominee, losing to incumbent governor Steve Bullock. In May 2017, Gianforte defeated Democratic nominee Rob Quist in a special election for Montana's at-large congressional seat to fill a vacancy created by the appointment of Ryan Zinke as U.S. secretary of the interior. Gianforte was convicted of assault in state court in June 2017 stemming from his election-eve body-slamming attack on The Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs in May 2017. He was fined and sentenced to community service and anger management therapy. Gianforte was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Kathleen Williams. Gianforte did not seek reelection to the House of Representatives in 2020 and instead was a candidate in the 2020 Montana gubernatorial election. In the November general election, he defeated incumbent lieutenant governor Mike Cooney. He is the first Republican to serve as governor of Montana since Judy Martz left office in 2005.