Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has been quietly holding its CEO Summit for its team and the leaders of its portfolio companies over the past few days.
The event, which is celebrating Kleiner’s 40th anniversary, isn’t a total secret — there have been tweets here and there about it — but the storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm has kept a tight lid on exactly who has been in attendance. You’ve got to wonder: What do some of the most powerful people in the tech and financial industries do to recharge and refocus before taking on the busy autumn season?
Well, wonder no more, because TechCrunch has obtained the full schedule. And it’s absolutely amazing. Here it is (we’ve omitted some exact location details in the interest of security, but we understand it’s taking place in the vicinity of Pebble Beach, the tony resort town on California’s Central Coast):
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Former Vice President (and current KPCB partner) Al Gore. As you can see, the event is almost over, but there is still one big guest name left: Bill Gates. He will be “in conversation” with the Summit’s attendees. Talk about an important lunch date.
We’ve reached out to Kleiner Perkins about the schedule, but the firm tells us that there will be no live stream of Gates’ talk or footage of the speakers that have appeared over the past few days. It’s a strictly private event.
The field of startup investing has leveled out in many ways in recent years with the advent of tools like AngelList and the passage of the JOBS Act. But this shows that while it’s no longer necessary for startups to head to Sand Hill Road’s stalwarts for venture capital funding, it can still be a very smart thing to do. Being backed by an A-list firm like Kleiner can be as valuable as ever — in ways that go beyond the dollars they invest.