Conservation International's San Francisco Gala Featuring Harrison Ford & Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
On March 3, 2011, Empire Entertainment, in partnership with @Radical.Media, produced Conservation International’s Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. The second of five national fundraising events that Empire is producing for Conservation International, this event brought together some of the Bay Area’s leading philanthropists with some of the world’s most notable champions of the environment.
The event began with an elegant cocktail reception and proceeded into a seated dinner for over 400 guests. The Four Seasons ballroom was elegantly, yet simply decorated with organic linens and votive candles, reducing to a minimum the use of greenery and florals.Once guests were seated, Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a longtime philanthropist, welcomed the audience and set the stage for the impressive evening to come.Jobs then introduced motion picture superstar Harrison Ford who spoke about his own long-term commitment to the environment and his work with Conservation International for over 15 years.Ford then introduced Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who wowed the guests with his command of the environmental and energy issues he had faced as Governor of California and his strong recommendations for how to confront them.
Next Harrison Ford and Governor Schwarzenegger were seated onstage where they engaged in a lively discussion and debate about the issues. Following dinner, Conservation International Chairman and CEO, Peter Seligmann, delivered a powerful keynote address highlighting critical environmental and conservation issues around the world and focusing on CI’s vital work in these areas.At the conclusion of the evening, Gap Inc.’s Robert J. Fischer took the stage to ask the attendees to remain engaged with what hey had heard on this night and to give generously.
Following the dinner, guests adjourned to an after-party for drinks and desserts.Empire served as overall event producer for this gala and was responsible for all technical production, stage design, and stage management. @Radical.Media provided all screen content and graphics.Conservation International empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, and for the well-being of humanity.
To learn more about Conservation International, visit http://www.conservation.org/
Empire is a leading producer of innovative gala events and is proud to serve Conservation International.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
