i want to see another show of hands. who here is a worker who earns a minimum wage or around the minimum wage, who is affected by this increase, and is part of a movement to improve the lives of workers in this city? raise your hands. [speaking spanish] [speaking foreign language] [applause] ok. i want to remind everyone that it was never about $15 and a union being some magic solution. i mean, this call started, like, six years ago. it meant something different than it means today. what this movement was about was not about some number that solved poverty or any quality. it was about dreaming big and

aiming high and saying, we don't believe that we will be constrained by the limits of imagination of those who are in power. by those who wish to get more profit from our labor. [laughter] we are not going to stand and be restrained by what people think it is possible. we are going to make the impossible possible. am i right? at this moment, we know our work is far from done, as many have mentioned. we know our work is far from done. we know the cost of living is outrageous and that $15 an hour does not get a family of four even close to what they need to survive. we know that our communities are facing blatant attacks on immigrants, on people of color, and it's bad. it's really, really bad.

we know that the right wing and people income -- in power, at various levels of government, especially the federal government, want to normalize the stripping away of worker's rights, immigrant rights, human rights and democratic rights. we cannot allow them to let that happen. this is not a time to be complacent and say we are doing great work in san francisco. this is a time to say, we did well and we have to keep doing better. we must lead the nation to fight back and make normal a world where all workers can live with dignity and decency. thank you. [applause] >> great. before we get too much further i want to acknowledge we have several of our partners from labor compliance today. the department of labor

standards enforcement and the office of the director of industrial relations. i believe also with the california department, i want to acknowledge all of you and welcome you here today. also with technical and professional employees local 21. thank you for attending as well. the next speaker is a san francisco worker, also a victim of minimum wage violation. [applause] [speaking spanish] [applause]

>> hi everyone. and the member and leader of the collective and i have been a member for the last five years. [speaking spanish] >> i want to thank all the organizations and all the people here. together, working side-by-side we've been able to accomplish our goals of hitting this minimum wage [speaking spanish] -.

[speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i want to say that we can do this, and we did do this. we accomplished our goal of getting $15 an hour. beginning on the 1st of july, everyone will be getting paid at least $15 an hour. [speaking spanish] [laughter] >> voice of translator: i want you to see and observe how good it feels to give the sigh of relief to accomplish our goals of raising the minimum wage. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: we

know it is expensive in san francisco to live. when minimum wage goes up, everything else goes up. rent, food, and living. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: we want to keep fighting and make situations better for all the workers here in the city. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: i want to invite everyone to share this message and share with the rest of our community who are not present, that on july 1st of this year, minimum wage in san francisco will go up to $15 an hour. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: with the organization's help, we will continue to push two more of an increase and improve these conditions. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: in our communities, not just in organizations, we work together and there is always a great leader. [speaking spanish] [applause] >> voice of translator: as a member, i would like to recognize our leader, and all the rest of the members who continue to do the work needed in our community. [applause]

[speaking spanish] [cheers and applause] >> voice of translator: i would like to thank all the organizations present and everyone within the labor community is for this great achievement. we want to recognize the worker's present -- workers president -- present who are here and we will push for more of an increase, and thank you again. [applause]

>> thank you elizabeth and alejandro. our next speaker, i'm really excited he was able to make it back here with competing engagements on his schedule. representing district 11, including ingleside, outer mission park and excelsior, supervisor asha safai. >> thank you everyone. there's been a lot of speakers today. one of the things that distinguishes my district as we have the highest number of working families and men and women who are represented in organized labor in the entire city. representing the excelsior, the outer mission, mission, ingleside, lakeview, all of those neighborhoods, we have more -- or one in four households is a household of organized labor. organized labor is why i am standing here today. i am standing here on the shoulders and side-by-side with

my brothers and sisters in the janitor's union. let's give it up for the president all got miranda. [applause] eight years ago, she took me under her wing. may he rest in peace, our friend bob morale as it -- bob mireles and the union. those are the two groups that brought me into the labor movement, and like many of you that are sitting in the audience both as organizers, both as community members, and as men and women of labor, i was on the front line and played a very small role but an a very small role but an important role to help pass this -- help it get past the finish line. what that means to me is i will never forget the hard work that went into this. i'li will never forget the voics of organized labor, and it will help to guide me each and every day as i make decisions here on the board of supervisors. in the wake of the janus decision, as many of you have heard, it was a very, very hard week for labor.

but one thing we know about organized labor, we always stand up and fight. we will continue to fight and we will honor this victory and we will carry it forward and carry it forward for many more, and never backed down from the horrible decisions that are coming down from the federal government. thank you again and thank you for such a wonderful victory for the men and women and to the working families of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you. as we look forward to the fourth of july weekend and the celebration of our nation's independence, we should be mindful that the 15-dollar an hour minimum wage represents a different type of independence for san francisco workers. thank you everyone for attending today. we will have food shortly. please stick around and we can all get to know each other better. thank you again. [applause] i've got time i've b

with 25 jobs so for young people one of my favorite days in san francisco thank you, thank you to the companies that are hiring. >> (clapping.) >> the city of san francisco and united way are calling an employers to have jobs for youth in 2012 president obama issued a challenge and the challenge was get disconnected young people connected to jobs and so mayor

ed lee said we should lead this challenge that the city will have 25 hundred jobs that first summer 6200 jobs and been building. >> i'll high are ups we like to pledge 50 jobs so for youth this summer. >> excellent. thank you. >> a large part of the jobs it did manual resource center started off a a youth program and our first year 35 percent of the young people working full-time we know there the pressors looking for committed young people the resource fair attracts over 6 hundred people if all over the city and the greater bay area. >> we have public and private partnership the employers came from hertz rent a car and many

private sector jobs sea have the city staff so the airport is here, starbuck's is here we've been retail we have restaurants, we have offices and so the young people will get an opportunity to partner search warrant with so many of the great champions for jobs. >> for the past 5 years we've hired over 3 willed youth to work as business traces they have been promoted to supervisors. >> if you're doing a job at starbuck's the opportunity for them allows them to understand math if tire working at anothers architectural firm understanding debris or a media to understand reading and writing differently those are opportunities that the mayor is clear he wanted to provide we're going to be do mock

interviews helping young people that the resumes a it pulls them to the career opportunities and building inspection commission make sure they're prepared for those opportunity educational and in terms of their preparation skills by the time many of them leave they'll leave with jobs and new relationships building their network of the opportunity to thrive and i think i could focus and i check around the booths to see had is available i'm hoping to get a job but have employers you know employers give practice. >> i feel this will be a great way to look for jobs we can do this like you get paid. >> when our young people walk we capture their information so we can do follows up and we have a room that has a our computer

lab an opportunity for them to do cover letters and talk about updating their profile and i think how you do things on the internet we help quam and they can update tare resume and can look in interviews and on the spot job officers we hire about one hundred young people today lee alone it is exciting out of that it is if they come through with one hundred walk out with a job. >> we'll rock and roll i guess in the job interviews it went great. >> as a youth we get to go through experiences 3 builds a great foundation gymnasium a positive outlook and more importantly confidence. >> we really want to do at the end of the day exist a young person with the possibility of what we can be and do we have

them go home i want to get there let me connection with those folks and ultimately got on the path. >> good morning good morning caitlin i'm caitlin lopez 23 years old i moved out to california and san francisco, california had i was about 8 years old and actually put in foster care at the age of 9 or 10 had a baby at the 16 years old so i've kind of had this crazy like youth experience. >> despite the challenges she faced caitlin finished high school and take advantage of program. >> i heard will mayor ed lee's program through my social worker and i interviewed with

entrepreneurs after i was matched walking sweet spots office i thought imitated not been in that type of office ones i got into the office with my supervisor we boptd and i got a call from h.r. i got the position and i'm in. >> i have. >> we hired merry for 8 weeks and saw how she did she was only going to work 8 weeks but at the end question offered her a position part time. >> i have those traits it has been great working here my term of 5 weeks was pretty much like family supporting each other i feel like the mayors job program helped me to get in job without the jobs plus program i - i

probably would have not even had a job. >> in her case she's a mother of two now going to school full-time and making it happen so if she can do it differently anyone that has a willingness to try at least try to make it can do it. >> those programs are amazing they're so important for young adults to really go out there and make a better future for themselves and despite not having a traditional - you can go out there based on the programs that's what they're for they want to help you succeed. >> we'll be committing to 25 jobs in the tech. >> the san francisco rec and park is hiring 3 and 50 youth that summer .

>> (clapping.) >> and only child born in the office development allocation to r so for me is a network of the community that made the difference no way i'll be with united way this network was here for me this was personal and professional so important we create the opportunities who know the next ceo or champion of the community is coming today to find their path. >> that's the roll in san francisco we really by helping each other out >> (clapping.) >> the goal for 2017 to create 5 thousand jobs for youth if you want more information invite them at sf youth.org

>> good afternoon everyone. good morning and afternoon. i am the director of international trade and commerce in the mayor's office. it is an honor to welcome all of you here for this special occasion. special welcome to the counsellor core who is here with us today. and a special welcome to the many chairs of our sister city committees and to the other city officials who are here from so many departments. and to all of you in the general public. it is an honor to have you here. without further ado, i'd like to turn this over to the man whose idea at this project it was. our mayor, mark farrell. [applause] >> mayor farrell: than >> mayor farrell: thank you, mark. isn't this awesome? [applause] i am very excited here. i talked to our office of

protocol, about my first week in office as mayor. i said why don't we have one of these poles with our sister cities? he said you know what? we can make this happen. here we are. two weeks before leaving office. this is an awesome way to go out. i want to say how proud i am to be here as the mayor of the city of san francisco. on the mayor of a city that prides itself on our sister city relationships. especially in this era today with the federal government, where we are building walls, we are tearing down relationships. we are literally creating tariffs. here in the city of san francisco, we are leading the way in a different manner. we are leading the way building bridges between our different countries and different cities throughout the world. our sister city program in san francisco, it dates back to 1957. with the inaugural sister city of osaka. it was done just a year after president eisenhower in 1956

started the sister city program in our country to really get citizens involved amongst different cities throughout the world to build those bridges and between our different cultures and in between our different countries. we are literally, now in san francisco with 19 sister cities from 8-z-letter. we are so lucky and so blessed to have so many amazing volunteers and individuals working in the city of san francisco for our sister city committees and for our sister city relationships. and a few quick funds statistics about our sister cities. if you haven't been able to look at the kilometre clock up there, the shortest distance from san francisco is a court, in ireland. there's a lot of people here from there. the longest one is bangalore in india. our smallest sister 60 -- sister city is in italy.

it is the namesake of st. francis which our city is named after. i looked up today, a population of 26,000 people there. be due at a large and small here. we have bangalore, shanghai, sydney, paris, but we do it across the entire little world. thank you for coming here today. this is an awesome monument that will last forever here in san francisco to really talk about and exemplify how we believe our role in international community will always stand and how important our city believes it to be. again, thank you to all of the volunteers. many of you are here today. thank you to all the consular generals for all of your hard work. i want to give a special recognition to anita lee, mayor lee's wife. she is here today. mayor lee was a huge support of our sister cities. he went to so many of them. we went, last year with mayor

lee and anita to sign the sitter -- sister city agreement in kiel which was signed recently. a special recognition to our chief of protocol who is back with us. [applause] and thank you again to mark chandler and certainly the person who i had the initial conversation with, matthew. thank you for all your hard work on this. and last, but certainly not least, thank you to our department of public works. and the s. of nt s.f. nta sign u have made this happen. in any case, thank you for being here. this is a great celebration and we can always come visit here going forward into the future. with that, i would like to introduce a gentleman who has been, there he is, right behind me. he has been the longest, i believe the longest serving chair of a sister committee or the longest-serving chair of the sister committee of osaka.

again, it was our first sister city relationship in san francisco. the gentleman is literally a stalwart in our japanese community here in san francisco. i would like to bring up alan oka moto. [applause] >> while. being introduced by the mayor. that's pretty cool, isn't it? i did not expect that. anyway, before i give my very, very brief remarks. i would just like to acknowledge charlotte again. the chief of protocol. you know, the other day i overheard a conversation between mayor willie brown and mayor -- the mayor of san jose. willie brown -- norman said, i have an airport named after me and willie brown said, i have a bridge named after me. charlotte has topped them all. she has the stairs on the rotunda of san francisco city hall named after her. how cool is that?

also, since i am giving out some thanks. we should give great thanks to mark chandler. the director of international trade. without him, our sister cities would not be able to function. mark, thank you. and then, again, as the mayor said, the right hand man the does all the hard work, matthew. thank you. [applause] you know, i am so honored to represent the 19 sister cities that san francisco has. excuse me. as the mayor said, i am the cochair of the san francisco city association. the cochair with me is kathleen. [applause] and the heart and soul of the sister city, the hardest working person, the most important person is our executive director. as the mayor said to, osaka is

the oldest sister city relationship that we have. last year we celebrated our 60th anniversary. we hope to go for another 60 years. the mayor mentioned that in order to provide better relations between the united states and japan, president dwight eisenhower asked the current mayor at the time, george christopher to establish the san francisco socket sister city association. the mission statement of the sister city is very similar to all the other sister city association's. we were attempting to build bridges of friendship and commerce between the two great powers of the pacific rim. san francisco, and osaka. i know that we will continue on despite anything that anybody has said. san francisco and the osaka relationship will continue far into the future.

i know everybody is anxious to get to lunch, so i just wanted to mention the other sister cities and their chairs. they are all here. everyone likes to hear their own name. if you would allow me to mention their names, and please, i apologize for the pronunciation. some of these are pretty difficult. anyway, we have frankie gillett. amann jordan. richard r. menino. james hurley. is that correct? >> mayor farrell: german. >> i apologize.

kim when. arthur will tell. hannah fleck. christopher carew ski. carmen colette. thomas horan. candace bender. james brigham and gmo tail costanza. i think all of you for attending and thank the city of san francisco for this wonderful sign. thank you. [applause] >> mayor farrell: thank you allen. and for all of your hard work. i want to say special thanks to day to all of our police

officers who are here and chief scott as well in our police department. thank you for being here. thank you to all of our officers. i would like to bring up the person who keeps our city clean. he has been responsible. this is his land here that we are able to put the statue on. please welcome up mohammed knew rue. [applause] >> thank you. it takes a village to really put together a project and to this project, when we got the call a few months ago from the mayor's office of protocol, we went to work and our partners donated the pole to us. and our friends at m.t.a., the sign shop, they had the responsibility of, you know, making all the science. and then it came to our shop where we had to figure out the order of what the signs go. our division of architectures and engineering, they helped put all these signs into the correct

places. they went through several different iterations. and then, of course, our operations department. our building shop came and builds the foundation, and we still have to come back and finish it. a big hand to all the city family for coming together to make this happen. [applause] also, as part of our public works, we are leading the charge were several agencies to make market street really the street of the future. market street is a project we have been working on for several years. we are close to completing a design. that design will include the redo of the holiday plaza itself. some of the ideas out there is actually two make over this plaza. it will not be a sunken hole and create a lively space. but also make it much easier for people to get on the cable cars and the buses i get to where they are going. holiday plaza is ground zero for public works.

we spent a lot of time trying to make sure all of the designs were in the works and they come to fruition. with the leadership of our mayor's office and the sister cities, this would not have happened. i am proud to be part of this project. a few names of people i should think. kevin from bvr, he lives -- he literally made sure we got this done on time. a big hand for him. [applause] and greta jones who oversaw the details to make sure this happened. i'm excited. this adds another beauty to our city and lets people know how far you are too many of our sister cities. charlotte, i know we are working on getting a few more sister cities. i'm looking forward to that. lets havlet's have a great day. thank you very much. [applause] >> mayor farrell: thank you. again, thank you to all the consulate general's who are here. charlotte, do you want to say a few words? will this one work?

can you get up? [laughter] >> let me come over there. [applause] want to fight? >> mayor farrell: absolutely not. [laughter] >> you should see what the other guy looks likely it happened in new york. be careful where you go. it won't happen in any of these cities. i really wanted to thank the mayor. he's been a mayor for a very short time, but he has done some wonderful things. this, for us, in protocol and the sister cities, tops the list. it really says that, you know, san francisco is a city of many, many nations. that is what makes us so great, and this brings people together. as you know, the sister cities are for exchanges and culture, business, art, science, it goes on and on. what it is really about is about friendship. and you think about all the

things that are going on in the world today, and we need more friendship. these committees that work so hard, and they represent the constituency of their particular countries, in this city, and in exchange with the cities across the way, so many miles away. but these may be lots of miles, but really, our hearts, and our arms are very close to the cities that our sister cities. may friendship rained with all the other things that are going on. and san francisco is a city that is a friendly city. we can do it better than anybody else. right, mayor? >> mayor farrell: yes. >> all right. [applause] anybody want to fight? [laughter] >> mayor farrell: one more round of applause for our chief of protocol. [applause] again, thank you everyone for being here.

to our consular general for your service. on behalf of your countries in the city of san francisco, to all the volunteers. the sister city committee heads and all the volunteers behind its. so many department heads are here as well. and a city family. this is a monument for years to come. let us take with us today the idea, the mission, the spirits, and the city of san francisco. let us build bridges. let us not build walls. let us carry with us the values of san francisco. thank you everyone. [applause]

>> san francisco is a global city. i sit out and look out from my office over our magnificent skyline and i see it.

we are at the crossroads of technology and trade, finance and philanthropy, education and medicine. the world literally beats at the path to our door with our world-class airport, incredible universities, newly renovated and modern convention centres, and probably, most importantly, the ecosystem. our ecosystem that encourages global business activity. however, as you learned a few years ago during the great recession which we all can remember, we cannot take that ecosystem for granted. it doesn't just happen. even here in san francisco. if we want to remain a global city, we need to embrace and encourage and energize all those important ties that link our city to the rest of the world. so we remain competitive. we need the city's economic workforce development. that is why several months ago, a few brave souls who are in this room decided not just to

continue the great work of these international programs, but to build a robust new platform. a new organization that will take the activities that we've already done to a new level. and be prepared to add on new ones, and new geographies over time. i am the director of global strategies and i am delighted to welcome you to the launch of the global s.f. [applause] i am honoured to serve as cochair of the organization along with my cochair and are incredibly great secretary. we are lucky we have darlene to be our executive director's clause there is nobody in san francisco, nobody in california, nobody in america, or even in the whole world, including china, that is better suited to

lead this organization. we are very lucky to have you, darlene. [applause] we have a really exciting program for you this morning, including a lot more discussion about global cities. you know, we are in city hall. it's important to reflect on the fact that our first program, china s.f., what you are mostly familiar with, was from rounded by then mayor answered to be governor gavin newsom. it was expanded to include latin s.f. and s.f. asia under mayor lee and we are starting a new chapter, a new organization with mayor mark farrell and mayor elect london breach. to start us off, is a real privilege to introduce a true son of san francisco who stepped in at a time of tragedy for the city to become the 44th mayor of san francisco. mark farrell as mayor and previously supervisor, has worked tirelessly to improve our city and maintain a vibrant internationally connected economy, keeping san francisco a true global city.

mayor farrell? [applause] >> mayor farrell: thanks for having me here today. i want to congratulate everyone on the launch of global s.f. pretty cool science here as well. you know, as was mentioned, building on what mayor newsom and mayor lee did in terms of our programs, we continue to attract businesses to the city of san francisco. san francisco has always been a leader on the international stage. and this is just a continued commitment to that. i want to say i very much believe in this. as mayor, as a resident of san francisco, our city government needs to continue to reach out and continue to be a role player internationally as well. i just came back, last week, from a ten day trip to ireland and germany. i've been on many trips internationally as well as a supervisor and now as mayor. i believe it is something we need to be doing. we need to push the pedal

forward as a city. and especially as we think about today. think about, as a country, as a city, when we have our president, our federal administration building walls, building tariffs, doing everything we can that really stymies what we are trying to do here in san francisco. we need to push ahead. that is why i am proud of what we are doing as a city. this continues the legacy, but it is so important in today's world and what we face out of washington d.c., but quite frankly also around the world. it is quite amazing travelling internationally right now i do what people are saying about our country and our leadership, that we continue to push forward to. this is an awesome initiative. this will yield benefits for years and years to come. whether i'm the mayor or whether i am a private citizen once again pretty soon, i will be a huge supporter. thank you for having me here today. [applause] >> ok.

good morning. as you all know, i am darlene, the executive director and thank you all again for coming this morning. i think you mayor farrell for your support and your remarks. thank you and i look forward to working with you, as mayor and as a private citizen. thank you. jantje. i am very delighted to be here today and as you all know, we have come a long way. as we mentioned earlier, in 2,008 with the foresight of gavin unit -- gavin newsom and n the brains of michael cohen is not here, china s.f. was created as a public-private partnership in the chamber of commerce. i still remember it when i was chief deputy in the communications office that he announced he would set aside $2.1 million to establish a china desk. being the sceptic on warm, i said i will believe it when i see it. ten years later, 100 companies, and more than 100 jobs created and definitely more than

$5 billion of foreign direct investment, global s.f. is an independent organization. our work will be on economic development. our job will be making san francisco and the bay area at the destination of choice for overseas companies. what we conduct local businesses with the rest of the world. i would like you all to please meet members of the global s.f. team. please raise your hands when i call your name. hannah lee, director of china s.f. [applause] leanne wong, program manager of china s.f. [applause] joe lynn vallejo, director of latin s.f. [applause] laura jenkins, director of partnership. [applause] samba jiggers, director of special projects. [applause]

alex fong, program manager. our youngest manager of the team. [applause] and by the way, i'm still hiring. i'm looking for a new director as s.f. asia. contact me if you want the job description. ok. to better clarify the organized -- organizational structure, because everyone is wondering, are you guys becoming global s.f. right now? what is china s.f. going to equally who are you? what are you going to be equally wanted to clarify the organizational structure. china s.f. and latin s.f. and s.f. asia operate as initiatives focused on their specific regions. reporting up to global s.f. global s.f. will start looking at opportunities outside the targeted regions, whether they be in africa, europe, or the middle east, just to name a few. i would like to thank my founding board members, david kaufman who gave some really nice remarks earlier. he has been with us from the inception of china s.f. hands the land, might fearless

cochair of china s.f. at the time. thank you for being with ass -- with us. and wendy wong who has kept me out of trouble in terms of numbers and finances. thank you. and the transition team for helping my team and i create an identity for our new organization and making today a reality. i would also like to thank the associates for donating their creative work. we have grown up and are ready to stand on our own 2 feet. we are now two blocks away from city hall which is really, really cool. we will be working in the courts space. we will be -- yes, we are. we will be spending time on sectors important to the city and integral to its resiliency efforts. biotech, iot, syntax, food and beverage, real estate and infrastructure investments, to name a few. we want people to know that we are open for business. i look forward to meeting and working with all the members of

the council core. some of you are represented today. economic development organizations representing different countries, in cities and counties throughout the bay area. i know we have representatives today from the peninsula and east bay. thank you for coming. and while we continue to build upon our existing partnerships created over the last few years, over the last ten years, sorry. last but not least, i want to remind everyone we are a nonprofit corporation. we are a bona fide five o one c three. no one is our fiscal agent. we are taking donations anytime. [laughter] >> laura is accepting checks. our biggest sponsor will be this city of san francisco. as a partner in our business through the form of a grant. the initiatives will continue to receive seed money to do the great work they have been doing over the years. we are really proud of that. with that, i will stop talking and i will let the panelists today talk to us and tell us why

san francisco is a global city and show us how diverse our businesses really are. thank you for coming. [applause] >> i would like to now introduce and welcome our panelists. want to call your name please come and take a seat up front. susan person, is a research director of northern california at jl l. we next paragraph sophie o'kelly the chief operating officer at decathlon. if you have not been to the shop, you have to go on market street right next to the four seasons. they have the best products and are really good prices. and last but not least, kristin durham, a really good old friend of mine. she's deftly the pro in our space but she is the director and office to the c.e.o. please welcome them. thank you. [applause]

>> good morning, ladies pick first to balk back i wanted to note we actually have an all-female panel. isn't that awesome. [laughter] [applause] i think it's incredible, because, especially when we talk about the me too movement, but also in a city where we value diversity, to actually have women in positions of leadership, to me makes me cry. anyway, thank you. and then we have talia hart. she is here today. she is the president and c.e.o. of the chamber of commerce. please welcome her. [applause] we will continue to work closely together, even though we are quote "-right-double-quote divorced. [laughter] , separates. anyway, we are here today to talk about why san francisco is a global city. i wanted to start with susan, the research person.

could you tell us, what are the key indicators for a global city? >> a global city is a city that has business and produces goods and services that go internationally and touch all parts of the world. i think that there are at least six key indicators of what makes a global city. number 1 is the people. san francisco is a true melting pot. we welcome everyone. i think, also, we welcome them but we welcome though -- their cultures. as a result we have restaurants, and cultural events and all kinds of things that reflect the variety of people here and who they are. access is another key part of that. our great port and airport make us easily accessible for everyone, for people to come and go and for goods to come and go. education is another key aspect of that. our world-class educational institutions produce highly educated people and a workforce that innovates, that thinks ahead what else.

we have, obviously our technology is very innovative here. we sponsor a lots of startups and unicorns and more established tech companies whose products, goods and services, once again, touch all parts of the world. we also have tourism. people come to san francisco and they see what a great place it is. our beautiful environment, and they want to stay or come back. and of course, not to forget finance. the finance here is world-class. we have financial institutions from all over the world. we have big banks and we have venture capitalist and private equity and lending everything that goes on here. that makes us able to do everything else. >> thank you, susan. sophie, she is from france. do you agree with everything that susan said, and, you know, we know that decathlon has been

a really good in china, but what made you set up shop in san francisco. >> i agree with what you said, susan. [laughter] yes. decathlon has more than 1300 stores worldwide. china is a very big market. why san francisco? san francisco, for us is a city where all sorts are represented. we proposed more than 70 spots in our offer. we need the feedback. we think that in san francisco we have the passion and the culture for sports and we will obtain great feedback on all of the products we have to propose. there's also a wonderful innovation culture here. our first store we opened on market street is, to us, a lab. we are using san francisco as a lab to modernize what we will do in the u.s. once we have come to the right conclusions. we are testing many things in that story. we are testing mobile system payments, retesting the omnicom is reports where we can make

sure all of our customers have a project at -- product at any time, anywhere, when they need it with any device. this is the best place to do this over here. we are obtaining great results. >> that's good to know. my next person, kristin, i wanted to ask you, since then desk was conceived on a desk in denmark. why, and how did the founders decide on san francisco? >> i think that the factors that susan talked about definitely played a role in the minds of our founders. the company was founded in 2,007 in copenhagen. and by 2,009 we were already here in san francisco. i think that for the founders, you know, there was some consideration of the city. they made a brief stopover in boston after they had raised their first money, but in many ways, san francisco for us has been an inevitability. the talent, the access to financial capital, and just

having an environment where people know how to build business and how to build it quickly and how to scale it globally with something that, you know, when we saw the product starting to get adopti adoption, it made sense to double down in san francisco, and build a team that would take the company forward from here. and so, you know, that was, now, eight years ago. seven or eight years ago today. we are 2200 people worldwide. about 800 of which are in this city. we continue to increase our footprint along market street because the things that hold true for us, you know, when we were a small private company, even now that we are public, are still true today. we can hire diverse workforce and we can get a variety of skills and talent in that enriches our business and makes us better able to design software that serves all of the

customers that we want to serve. >> that's good to know. innovation seems to be here here. one word i'm hearing and resonating really well. but susan, can you touch on what makemake san francisco a globaly for the future? >> we have an international research department and we produce all kinds -- we compare markets all over the world and one piece that we put out is what we call our city momentum index. san francisco and silicon valley, it was put out in the last few months. they ranked number 1 and watch what globally. what this index looks at his innovation and how to take it to the next level. by k. obviously, because san francisco, this area ranks high because of some of the things i mentioned before, the number of tech startups we have which are fuelled by our great universities, professors and students, partnering and students graduating and going out on their own and having

really invested in great thoughts on products that they want to produce and introduced to the world. so it has to do with, you know, the education. it has to do with the number of startups. it has to do with the number of unicorn companies that are not yet public but valued over a billion dollars in phantom starch in san francisco. we are the top producers of those companies. looking ahead, you know, we see san francisco as a place -- it is a place where these companies are fostered, and with change occurring at such a fast pace in the way we live and work today, san francisco was really at the forefront of all of this. i think that that's really what gives us the momentum to be a city of the future. next i will ask kristin. in your mind, what make san francisco unique?

>> e