Tech visionaries, marketing pioneers and lots of star power at Rakuten Optimism
October 25, 2019 4min read
Optimism was in the air yesterday in San Francisco, California, as 3,000 attendees came out for the second annual Rakuten Optimism event in the U.S., a world-class celebration of digital innovation in e-commerce, marketing and more.
Held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in downtown San Francisco for the second time — following a successful 4-day extravaganza in Japan this past summer — the conference featured a diverse cast of tech visionaries, marketing pioneers and A-list entertainers, including global tidying phenomenon Marie Kondo, The Shark Tank star and FUBU CEO Daymond John and Rakuten’s own founder and chief executive, Mickey Mikitani. And capping the night: none other than Usher, who nearly blew the lid off the venue with a high-octane performance to close the night.
Here are some photo highlights from the event, one rapidly becoming a favorite in the Bay Area and beyond.
Usher had the house dancing and singing along to their favorites in a thrilling 90-minute set.Usher, the event’s entertainment headliner and one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.Marie Kondo, author and tidying-up guru with “Big Questions Podcast” host, Cal Fussman.“Does it spark joy? If yes, then keep it. It’s that simple,” said Kondo, on her KonMari philosophy.The closing keynote was given by Daymond John, chief executive of FUBU and The Shark Group, as well as a New York Times bestselling author and one of ABC’s original The Shark Tank investors.John shared his unique story and explained his 5 Shark Points, which provide the fundamentals for success in business and life.“Our philosophy is to ‘walk together.’ We want to be collaborative. To work together. To help each other,” said Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani.Jennifer Fleiss, co-founder of Rent the Runway and CEO/co-founder of Jetblack spoke about how businesses can find balance between humans and tech.Audience members enjoying the main stage content.Fans pose for a Golden State Warriors photo experience.Rakuten Optimism featured a host of interactive exhibitions and activities in and outside the conference venue.CEO of Rakuten Americas Amit Patel talked about how Rakuten is driving the future of consumer experience.3,000 attendees came out to the event to learn, network and be inspired.CTO of Rakuten Mobile Tareq Amin took the stage to talk about Rakuten’s innovative new cloud-native mobile network.Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani, KKR Chairman of Media, Richard Sarnoff, and Lyft’s President and Co-Founder, John Zimmer (left to right) speaking about capital, growth and disruption. An evening of networking, music and entertainment followed the main stage sessions.Rakuten Optimism 2019 couldn’t have happened without a dedicated team of event staff.The elegant historical venue located in the heart of San Francisco.
