Fifth Annual BLC Breakfast brings community together
More than 275 community leaders turned out Friday, March 5, 2010 for the Business Leadership Council’s Fifth Annual Breakfast. They came to support Federation, to network, and to hear Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, deliver a riveting keynote address.
Mingling in the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel, guests connected – or reconnected, as the case may be – with one another at what has become a must-attend event. Bruce Taragin, managing director at Blumberg Capital, bumped into San Francisco 49ers legend Harris Barton, who is now managing partner at HRJ capital. “It’s nice to reconnect with some Jewish people in the business world,” Taragin said, adding that this was the fourth BLC breakfast he’d attended. “We haven’t seen each other in years,” Barton added. In fact, the ballroom was so packed that some guests found themselves a little overwhelmed. “It’s almost like being in a foreign city,” said Jason Chroman, finance director at Streetline Networks, “where there’s a few people I know and so many I don’t.”
After a half hour of networking – somewhat akin to speed-dating, given the short time-frame – guests sat down to say ha-motzi, munch on smoked salmon and bagels, and hear the morning’s speakers. Among them were Acting Federation CEO Jennifer Gorovitz, who touched on the important work of Federation, and the need to embrace new ideas as we move forward into our next century of giving. Shortly thereafter, Richard M. Rosenberg, retired chairman and CEO of BankAmerica Corp., received the Business Leadership Award, in recognition of his commitment to Jewish values in his business, civic, and philanthropic endeavors. Finally, Sheryl Sandberg wowed the crowd with a dynamic and inspiring keynote address that called on all of us to find the places where we can give a little more.
“This was a grandslam,” said Lynn Bunim, executive director of external affairs at AT&T and a former vice-chair of the BLC. “From start to finish, the messaging was the perfect integration of philanthropy and business. For the first time, our speaker really wove being a committed Jew and a very successful businesswoman into Jewish philanthropy.”
- Videos of Sheryl Sandberg's and Richard M. Rosenberg's speeches and interviews are available at: http://www.sfjcf.org/go/blc2010
- Event photos are available at: http://sfjcf.smugmug.com/BLC/2010-BLC-Breakfast
