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Thank you for joining us at the 2025 Bay Area-Silicon Valley Summit presented by Sutter Health!

A packed house of more than 325 top Bay Area business leaders gathered at the beautiful Julia Morgan Ballroom where they heard insights and perspectives on some of the most critical and topical issues of the day. The Council extends its sincere thanks to Clint Reilly, CEO of Clint Reilly Holdings and member of the Executive Committee, for graciously hosting us at his beautiful Julia Morgan Ballroom. Gov. Newsom joined Sutter Health CEO Warner Thomas for a wide-ranging 45-minute conversation in which he touted California’s leadership, pushed back strongly against critics who say California’s best days are behind it, and opined on the future of a Democratic party he said suffers from a “toxic brand.”

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Introduced by Juan Salazar, Director of Local Policy and Community Relations for Meta, Newsom said Democrats need to open and expand their thinking and, referencing recent right-wing guests on his new podcast, must listen and learn from a Trump-led Republican party that trounced them in the November election.

Newsom also talked about the continuing challenges with homelessness, and thanked Thomas and Sutter for their leadership in passing Proposition 1 last year to direct more resources to help unsheltered residents, particularly those with mental and behavioral problems. Newsom also highlighted California’s powerful innovation economy, said concerns about a California exodus are overstated, and took aim at over-reaching AI regulations he said could hurt our competitiveness.

Another highlight of the afternoon was a discussion with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan that was led by Carrie Owen Plietz, Interim Executive Vice President, Group President and Chief Operating Officer, Care Delivery Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals and introduced by Alexander Leonard, Managing Director for JPMorgan Chase. In their first-ever appearance together, the three mayors emphasized the work they are doing to address crime, safety, homelessness and the economic revitalization of their downtowns. And Mayor Lurie highlighted the importance of the region’s transit systems in powering economic activity and the need to secure new funding sources for their survival.

The audience was treated to a lively conversation with urbanist Derek Thompson led by Hanson Bridgett Managing Partner and Bay Area Council Chair Kristina Lawson and introduced by Holland & Knight Partner Jennifer Hernandez. Thompson shared insights from his new bestselling book with co-author Ezra Klein titled Abundance, which has gained national attention for outlining a new approach to failed and ineffectual Democratic governance. Thompson and Klein argue Democrats put too much focus and energy on governing from a position of scarcity, where rules, process and regulation lead to sclerotic outcomes, rather than looking for ways to remove barriers and obstacles that get in the way of building housing, clean energy and transportation systems and other critical infrastructure.

With the current assault by the Trump Administration on some of the country’s top universities, a conversation led by Janet Reilly, Chair of the Board of Regents for the University of California, with UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons and Stanford University President Jonathan Levin and introduced by San Francisco State University President Lynn Mahoney, was especially timely. Both Levin and Lyons emphasized the importance of universities as economic fountainheads for California and engines of unparalleled scientific research and discovery. They said business leaders can be powerful advocates in supporting the mission and independence of universities.

The Summit opened with a fascinating conversation with former Trump Senior Advisor and Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway led by TMG Partners CEO and former Council Chair Michael Covarrubias and introduced by David Tucker, Managing Director of Public Affairs for Alaska Airlines. Conway offered insights on President Trump’s leadership style and decision-making, saying he welcomes and considers different viewpoints among his close advisors and that he doesn’t surround himself solely with loyalists. As SF Chronicle politics reporter Joe Garofoli noted in a story on the Summit, Conway also told the audience she plans to accept an invitation by Gov. Newsom to join his podcast. That was news to Newsom, who later in the day said he was pleased to hear Conway had picked the Summit to announce her participation on his show.

The Council extends its deepest thanks to the many companies that sponsored the Summit, including Presenting Sponsor Sutter Health and Pioneer Sponsor Meta. Their support is critical to enabling the work the Council does to improve economic conditions across the Bay Area and California and address many of our biggest challenges.