Of the two RIPE actually existed first. RIPE isn't just a forum, it is the community of European and Middle Eastern IP network operators. It started as coordination meetings of some European operators and grew from there. At some point the RIPE community was large enough that they founded the RIPE Network Coordination Center with full time employees as a sort of secretary role for the community. Later when the RIRs were created to decentralize the management of IP resources that job was assigned to the RIPE NCC for the RIPE region.

My work place is one of those original European operators and the colleage who represented us at ripe-1 is also still employed, though close to retirement now :-)