SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Over 300 Black business and technology leaders, investors, athletes and entertainers from across the nation as well as racial equality allies will converge virtually for the 7th Annual Culture Shift Weekend Silicon Valley. The purpose of the private event is to enable deals and collaborations among guests and improve business and society. The event will be held on June 17, 18, 19 and 21, 2021 and is produced by Culture Shift Labs a C-suite diversity and innovation consulting firm.
"I created this event 12 years ago in New York and scaled it to Silicon Valley 7 years ago when I saw a need for leaders to be intentional and actionable about their commitment to racial equality. We've been doing this work well before it was a national public dialogue," says Andrea Hoffman, Founder & CEO of Culture Shift Labs and Culture Shifting Weekends.
The event will kick off with Tech & Society on June 17th which is a private gathering of leaders to discuss racial equality systemic change and how to best implement that. Over 50 CEO's and other top executives from Logitech, Docusign, Waymo, Boeing, and Citi among others are expected to be in attendance at this virtual event along with family office chief investment officers, athletes and Hollywood influencers. The evening includes a fireside chat with Richard Johnson, the CEO of Footlocker who will be interviewed by Tristian Walker, the CEO of Bevel. Also, Lloyd Dean, the CEO of CommonSpirit will be speaking and will also help lead the discussion among guests. The event will take place from 5:30pm-7:30pm PDT and is being sponsored by Hearst & Fenwick.
On June 18th, two pitch sessions will take place where 12 hand selected Black and Latino entrepreneurs will present their business to investors. The first event will focus on general market products/solutions and is sponsored by Avanta Ventures, Walmart, and Paladin. This event will kick off with a fireside chat featuring Clarence Bethea, the CEO of Upsie who just raised $18.2M. The second pitch event will focus on healthcare founders who will also present to investors. Dr. Toyin Ajay Co-Founder and President of Cityblock Health, which recently reached Unicorn status after a $160 million in series C funding round, will be interviewed by Rosalyn Chief Diversity Officer, Senior Vice President CommonSpirit Health. This event was co-produced by Dr. Michael Penn, Founder of Health Equity Ventures, Dr. Asha Collins Head of US, Country Clinical Operations, Genentech and Ivor Horne, MD, MPH, Director of Health Equity and Product Inclusion at Google. Both pitch events will be held from 10:00am-12:00 noon PDT and from 1:00pm-3:00pm PDT respectively.
On Saturday, June 19th guests have the opportunity to participate in the virtual Ecosystem Networking Reception & Performance by actor/singer Tyrese followed by a Q&A about his business and investing endeavors. The performance and discussion, sponsored by Yahoo!, takes place from 6:00pm-7:30pm PDT.
The event culminates on Monday, June 21st with the Culture Shift Awards sponsored by Salesforce, which will honor three Black leaders in Tech, Innovation and Social Impact: Sam Bright, Chief Product & Experience Officer at Upwork, Ebony Beckwith, CEO of Salesforce Foundation, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Salesforce and Ehrika Gladden, Head of Video Collaboration Sales & GTM at Logitech. It will be emceed for the 4th year in a row by producer/comedian Chris Spencer. Over 200 attendees are expected including executives from Logitech, Hearst, Walmart, Upwork, eBay, Salesforce, Boeing, Tableau, Morgan Stanley, JPMC, Goldman Sachs, Avanta Ventures and PayPal among others.
"If leaders are deliberate about improving business and society, it's critical that we seek out different perspectives, networks, and partnerships. Being part of Culture Shifting Weekend is a space to collaborate with some of the brightest minds in tech, innovation, social impact and capital investment to achieve those objectives. It's also an opportunity to ensure equity in our industry -- something our firm is committed to doing," says Sanjiv Parikh, Managing Partner, Avanta Ventures.
ABOUT CULTURE SHIFTING WEEKEND
Culture Shifting Weekends is an annual invite-only event that takes place in Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and Miami. These are the only events of their kind in the United States that unite over 400 accomplished Black & Latinx tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and social impact leaders in order to enable deals, collaborations and wealth creation.
Each coast has a different format; Silicon Valley is the largest gathering of Black leaders in tech, innovation and social impact to narrow the inequality gap in entrepreneurship, on corporate boards, in tech and in the c-suite. Silicon Alley is the largest gathering of Black and Latino Venture Capitalists to narrow the inequality gap in this sector. Miami is a hybrid of the two. As a result of these events over $446M has gotten into the hands of people who attend. https://www.cultureshiftingweekends.com/
Culture Shifting Weekend is an annual signature event of Culture Shift Labs.
ABOUT CULTURE SHIFT LABS
Culture Shift Labs (CSL) is a diversity and innovation consultancy that provides services under three pillars: Advising, Strategy, & Activation. Since 2006, they have been a recognized leader in integrating social and financial returns in ways that improve businesses and society. Their Knowledge + Network Formula powers tangible outcomes for their clients.
CSL serves Fortune 500s, Tech Companies, the Investor Community (Family Offices, Impact Investors, PE and VC Funds) and Non-Profits.
The firm is based in New Jersey with satellite offices in San Francisco and Miami.
ABOUT ANDREA HOFFMAN
Ms. Hoffman is an advisor, dealmaker, strategist, speaker, author, and the founder and CEO of CSL. Leveraging more than 20 years of strategy, business development and advisory experience, she consults with senior leaders and C-suite executives across a wide range of industries on finding new growth opportunities. By helping clients see past long-held perceptions regarding the intersection of innovation, inclusion, and diversity, she guides clients to insights that unlock growth. Her advisory services help clients to see how business, technology and demographic shifts are related, and how leveraging those forces to improve business and societal impact are both possible and profitable. Ms. Hoffman's second book, 50 Billion Dollar Boss: Stories from African American Women Entrepreneurs on Leadership and Success (Palgrave Macmillan) was published in 2015, and nominated for a 2016 NAACP Image Award. She has included in a wide range of media outlets, from Bloomberg and the Christian Science Monitor to Fast Company and Washington Post. She has spoken or led panels at Milken Global Conference and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Media Contact
Gwendolyn Priestley, [email protected], +1 3239723268, [email protected]
Deanna Minnich, Culture Shift Labs, 9738460155, [email protected]
SOURCE Culture Shift Labs
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