Key Players to attend Culture Shifting Weekend Silicon Valley to boost Diversity in Tech

Industry heavyweights and influential decision makers are gearing up for the latest installment of Culture Shifting Weekend in Silicon Valley. More than 300 diverse leaders from a broad spectrum of industries will converge for three days to network, make deals, and accelerate action to diversify Silicon Valley.

Now in its fourth year in the Valley, Culture Shifting: A Weekend of Technology, Innovation and Social Impact (April 20-22) is widely recognized as the leading forum for discussion and action around Diversity & Inclusion in tech. Culture Shift Labs CEO Andrea Hoffman and business partner Denmark West of Connectivity Ventures curate the largest invite-only forum of Black and Latinx decision-makers to enable deals and collaborations that impact business and society.

Underwriting partners such as Morgan Stanley, Vista Equity Partners, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Dignity Health, eBay, Oracle, LinkedIn, and Gilead participate to meet fellow leaders tackling the tough issues of building a diverse C-Suite and board and to connect with highly accomplished but under the radar technology and innovation stars.

“Culture Shifting Weekends are proof positive that the diverse talent, deals, and business opportunities exist in vast numbers. We bring leaders together during this weekend to make them more visible and deals more actionable.”

Hosted in Silicon Valley in the spring and New York City in the fall, Culture Shifting Weekends are signature events of Culture Shift Labs, a diversity and innovation consultancy to companies across industry, venture, private equity funds, and large nonprofits seeking to diversify their leadership, boards, investments, portfolio companies, and partners.

Guests consist of a select group of influential and accomplished C-Suite executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders of color who are carefully selected to attend in order to produce and perfect quantifiable results.

Spanning three days and venues in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the 4^th Annual Culture Shifting Weekend guests include Danny Allen, VP, Tech Diversity & Inclusion, SAP; Keith L. Black, MD, Head of Neurosurgery, Cedar-Sinai; Samuel Bright, Sr. Director, GM of Art & Collectibles, eBay; and Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado, VP, Head of Strategy & Business Development, William Sonoma, among others.

We put the right people in the room—individuals who can write checks, do deals, open doors. Before they’re on the cover of Forbes, like Robert F. Smith, they’re here at Culture Shifting Weekends, making lifelong connections in an atmosphere of trust and generosity.”

Hoffman continued, “We put the right people in the room—individuals who can write checks, do deals, open doors. Before they’re on the cover of Forbes, like Robert F. Smith, they’re here at Culture Shifting Weekends, making lifelong connections in an atmosphere of trust and generosity.”

“Andrea has the ability to convene thought leaders around essential issues and get them to put intentions and actions in motion,” said Robert F. Smith, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners.

Hoffman’s #MakeShiftHappen ethos results in many measurable outcomes. A few examples: Laura Weidman-Powers, CEO and Co-Founder of Code2040, secured millions in funding stemming from a connection made at Culture Shifting Weekend; Maci Peterson, Founder of On Second Thought, secured investment money for her company; and 645 Ventures met an individual who became a meaningful LP in their fund shortly after meeting him at the New York Culture Shifting Weekend.

The weekend program includes Friday’s Millennial Tech Entrepreneurs & Influencers of Color Breakfast, sponsored by Vista Equity Partners and Morgan Stanley. Over 50 corporate executives and decision makers attend, and 20 Black and Latinx influencers and founders share how established companies can work with them, invest in them, acquire them and generally, how to think about problem-solving from their perspective.

Culture Shifting Weekend Silicon Valley 2017 [ Photo credit Culture Shift Labs]

Both Fridays and Saturdays activities take place at LinkedIn HQ in Sunnyvale.

New York native Andrea Hoffman spearheads the one-of-a-kind event. Hoffman is an advisor, dealmaker, strategist, 2x author, and the founder and CEO of the management consulting firm Culture Shift Labs (CSL). CSL advises senior leaders, cities, large nonprofits, and philanthropists on growth and innovation through diversity and inclusion. Andrea consults with C-suite executives across a wide range of industries on finding new growth opportunities. CSL has offices in New Jersey and San Francisco, where she expanded the business in 2015.

Hoffman is also the founder of Culture Shifting Weekends, the largest bi-coastal annual gathering of Black leaders in technology, innovation, and social impact to enable deals and collaborations — think Davos but for Black decision makers. She’s been producing this gathering of her knowledge and network for nine years in NYC and four years in Silicon Valley. In addition, Hoffman is developing SaaS platform called Katapult that will help companies with 1,000+ employees assess, measure, and improve their diversity efforts including the impact on business and society.

Main Image: Photo credit Culture Shift Labs. Culture Shifting Weekend Silicon Valley 2017 (L to R: Emmett D. Carson, Bernard Tyson, Eric Kelly)

• Tags:
• Andrea Hoffman
• Culture Shift Awards
• Culture Shifting Labs
• Culture Shifting Weekend
• Denmark West
• Diversity in Tech
• Silicon Valley

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