San Francisco forms CEO council of 26 top executives to tackle urban challenges

San Francisco’s economic recovery efforts are gaining momentum with a new public-private partnership that brings together 26 top executives from the city’s most influential companies. This CEO council, formed at Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request, aims to address critical urban challenges through business-government collaboration, focusing initially on street safety and cleanliness before tackling the city’s struggling downtown economy and significant budget deficit.

The big picture: The Partnership for San Francisco represents a strategic alliance between city government and corporate leaders to revitalize a city facing serious economic challenges.

• The organization will serve as a CEO council working directly with public officials on quality of life improvements and business climate enhancements.
• Modeled after a similar New York City initiative from the 1970s, the partnership signals an acceleration of Mayor Lurie’s strategy to leverage private sector resources for public benefit.

Key players: The group has assembled an impressive roster of San Francisco’s most influential business and technology leaders.

• Google/Alphabet Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat and Emerson Collective’s Laurene Powell Jobs serve as co-chairs, with former First Republic Bank head Katherine August-deWilde as president.
• Notable members include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer, Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris, and former Apple designer Jony Ive.
• The group also includes leadership from UCSF Health, Gap, DoorDash, Deloitte, Visa, PG&E, Williams-Sonoma, Sephora North America, DocuSign and Levi Strauss & Co.

Why this matters: San Francisco faces a massive structural budget deficit, partly driven by empty offices and vacant retail storefronts throughout the downtown area.

• The partnership brings substantial corporate resources and expertise to bear on the city’s most pressing problems.
• By establishing direct communication between city officials and business leaders, the initiative aims to streamline cooperation and accelerate improvement efforts.

What they’re saying: August-deWilde, a close ally of Mayor Lurie, identified street safety and cleanliness as the group’s initial priorities.

• She emphasized the organization’s commitment to “do everything we can to economically revitalize the city,” particularly focusing on the struggling downtown area.

The bottom line: While the Partnership for San Francisco won’t endorse political candidates or take positions on legislation, it positions itself as a civic booster organization that provides direct communication between government officials and the business community during a critical period in the city’s economic history.