day it is a war for talent. we are fighting to get the best and brightest. it is all about and look for property, and that comes from the minds of the people we attract. we found san francisco is a key location for attracting that power. my business partner and i started the company 10 years ago. we will be passing 1700 employees worldwide, over 500 in the city. that number will grow and grow. starting on our second decade in the city and hopefully for a long time to come. we are a little unusual for technology companies in the city. many of them are web-based companies. we are a deep, in the strongest drink network technology company. we make heavy-duty equipment for the largest government and corporate networks. we are more like cisco foor othr

companies like that. i had to have some discussions with my early investors while i was not in silicon valley. i am glad we had that conversation, made the investment. we had a good run here. we just finished a quarter of $200 million, $800 million run rate. we hope to pass $1 billion soon and we soldier forward as we move into our new headquarters in downtown san francisco. >> we would not be here celebrating a police announcement without a building. i encourage you all to look at what 680 folsom street looks at today, juxtaposing it with these renderings. it is not only good for the economy, but for the urban landscape. i want to thank michael for his work to date for helping to transform this location. >> this is about the 20th project we have done in san francisco.

it is visually challenged in its current state, but we think we have put together a great design. our partners and others have hired the best architects with som -- one of the best, sorry. we are pleased with the design. both jerry and his company had decided to go here, but it was also the mayor and city office hoping to keep technology companies here. it is a joint effort. after you take up the skin of the building, it has amazing attribute that you have read about in our press release. 35,000 feet square plates. floor to floor slabs in the city, which is unusual. that tenants in this building will have some amazing space, some amazing views, and our r ehab will be as good as

anyone. we are happy to be involved with the city. thank you very much. >> it really did take a team of folks to bring this deal together. we had great assistance from david from lasalle in helping to close this deal for the city and riverbed. >> good morning, everyone. it was a real honor to represent their best technology in this transaction, a 14-month process. i want to thank and congratulate jerry and his real estate team for the pro-active way they have managed their headquarters, getting a head start. mike and his solid team of putting this building together. mayor lee and jennifer for the continued great work they are doing in helping us represent some of the leading technology companies, here in san francisco. it is a real pleasure to be

here. thank you very much. >> we are going to break and then the mayor will take questions. not at the podium.

gentlemen, the voice of the san francisco giants and his radio personality -- kiss radio personality, ranelle brooks moon. >> thank you so much. thank you, everybody. thank you so much. happy valentine's day, and good afternoon, san francisco. [applause] i am so honored and thrilled to be part of today's celebration. we're going to have a great time as we salute a living legend today. it was 50 years ago, high atop noob -- nob hill in the venetian hotel that tony bennett sang a song for the first time, a song

that would become a worldwide and the mind forever with our city. i'm talking about, of course, "i left my heart in san francisco." and what better way to celebrate valentine's day then with a tribute to the most famous love song ever dedicated to our home town by our city's most beloved troubadour, mr. tony bennett? [applause] and now, everyone, please join the san francisco symphony and our chief of protocol, charlotte schulz, here on stage in welcoming our host, mayor edwin m. lee and first lady anita lee, and the man of the our, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause]

-- the man of the our -- the man of the hour, our special guest, mr. tony bennett. [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause]

that is the way you make an entrance, right? [applause] well, mayor lee, mrs. lee, and honored guests, for 50 years, the sounds of tony bennett and his rendition of "i left my heart in san francisco" has said to the world that this city by the bay is the capital of love, beauty, and a unique style that made it one of the plan its tourist destinations. mr. bennett, your voice is the voice of san francisco, and this is your day. [applause] we have a fantastic program for

you today. we have some local singers inspired by mr. bennett's career, and they will pay tribute to mr. bennett in song. tony bennett, your dedication to young people is known through countless projects such as your exploring the arts foundation and your founding of the frank sinatra school for the arts. you have proved to be a timeless link between artistic generations. and, of course, your inspiration continues with such incredible and wonderful projects as your recent "duets ii" cd. i have a copy. anybody else? [applause] and check this out, mr. bennett picked up two grammy awards sunday night for that album. [applause] so we congratulate you on that. i believe if you are scoring at home, that makes it 17 grammys

in his career. [applause] what we love -- well, we love the cd, but today, we have gone one step further. not just a duet, but an extraordinary trio. i'm pleased to present this trio, performing for the first time together, young people from the choir of the san francisco school of the arts, the san francisco boys chorus, and the san francisco girls chorus, take it away. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ the loveliness of paris

seems somehow sadly gay the glory that was rome is of another day i've been terribly alone and forgotten in manhattan i'm going home to my city by the bay i left my heart [applause] in san francisco high on a hill it calls to me

to be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars the morning fog may chilly air -- chill the air i don't care my love waits there in san francisco of of -- above the blue and windy sea when i come home to you san francisco your golden sun will shine for

me ♪ [applause] >> that was great, right? fabulous performance by those young people. what an honor it must be for those children to perform for mr. tony bennett today, paying tribute to his great legacy. something they will never forget, i'm sure. we have many others who wanted to pay tribute to you, mr. bennett, an expression of their love for you and for san francisco. i like to read to you just such

an expression. this is a letter inspired by you and your song, the winning entry in the love letter to san francisco contest, sponsored by sf travel. if i may -- "dear sf -- can i call you sf? i remember the first time i was in your presence. age nine. even on your surface, you enchanted me and i never quite recovered. i did not truly fall in love until i spent my 22nd birthday with you. i explore the depths of chinatown. i toured the rock and froze my but off at a giants game in june. i was hooked. unfortunately, i had plans. plans with that boy in missouri, but how i was wrong to leave you. when i found out he was cheating, i ran to you and you took me in without asking questions. i packed my bags and never looked back.

every day, i love you more and more. you had made me the happiest girl in the world and given me a real love. i want to spend my life with you exploring every corner and the depths of your soul. i cannot imagine being with any other city. thank you for saving my life. you truly did. sign your is, until the big one kills us all" -- [laughter] "andy." andy is with us, too. andy lives in the haight. right there. thank you for your love letter to the city. now, i believe we are ready to take a trip down memory lane and check out some of those san francisco landmark that you have made famous, mr. bennett, with your incredible voice and visit

some of your longtime friends who also want to pay tribute to you today. >> dear tony, we are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the recording of your song and our son, -- song, "i left my heart in san francisco." what better place to be then the fairmont hotel in san francisco where you first sang your song, our song, in the venetian room? i'm going to meet you in places where you have helped us celebrate the city by the bay, so follow me down memory lane. >> ♪ going home to my city by the bay ♪ >> toni, you have been an integral part of my life, and i

get emotional because it was a wonderfully happy time. so i want to thank you. >> hello. you are at the home of the little cable cars that climb halfway to the stars. you know that line, don't you? you remember when we had the celebration to bring back the cable cars in union square and all over town, and you were there. and here is our pal, a bell ringer of the cable cars for 10 years, and he was there on that day, so what happened? >> i had the honor and privilege of meeting mr. bennett. he wrote on my car with me, and we've run down the high-speed hill with the turnarounds, and he sang a few lines of "i left my heart." >> that song?

>> yes, and i just wanted to tell him thank-you for all he has done for this city. >> tony bennett, a household word in san francisco, and for me, all the years i have lived in this city, tony bennett has been like the next door neighbor. wherever i am, whether it is paris, whether it is wrong, whether it is nice, whether it is beijing -- whether it is rome, whether it is shanghai, whether it is some place in africa or some place in russia. if i say, ♪ i left my heart ♪ they immediately say tony and them. that means the national anthem for san francisco and literally for america have come from this extraordinarily talented human being. >> ♪ i left my heart

in san francisco ♪ >> ok, here we are down memory lane. we are at the at&t park, home of the san francisco giants. as you know, we sing your song after every win of the giants, so we have been sitting here a lot. you were here in 2011 for the opening, and you sang your song, and guess what? we won the world series. so, tony, we want you back. [applause] >> tony bennett has said his song "i left my heart in san francisco" changed his whole life. well, it has affected our lives as well. from the first time tony sang this beautiful love song to every time we hear it sweet sounds after a winning giants

game, it deepens our love for our home town and for tony bennett. >> ♪ above the blue >> here we are above the blue and windy city been -- sea in your city by the bay. remember 25 years ago, you were to come here and sing with the san francisco symphony for the 50th anniversary of the golden gate bridge -- you were before me at the theater, and you may remember that this place was really filled with people, thousands and thousands of people that came to celebrate. and you could not get through the crowd. so i said, cassette and ok, let's get a helicopter land it in front of city hall -- "ok, let's get a helicopter, led it in front of city hall." they said you were afraid