SAVE THE DATE to spotlight leadership in the San Francisco design community!

The IIDA Leaders Breakfast is an annual event series that celebrates design’s importance in the global marketplace by honoring the people who are both the legacy and future of design. This is made possible through the support of IIDA Headquarters, International Benefactor MillerKnoll, and Media Partner Interior Design.

Each event features a renowned keynote speaker who enlightens, provokes, and encourages new ideas, and a celebration recognizing one local individual who is making significant contributions to the design industry with the Leadership Award of Excellence Presentation.

Leadership Award of Excellence Honoree:

Verda Alexander
Co-Founder | Studio O+A

For over thirty years Studio O+A has been a creative force in workplace design. What began as a two-person firm in Silicon Valley in 1991 is today a San Francisco-based design firm dedicated to new thinking about work, creativity and the many ways our environments shape the lives we live. Studio O+A was awarded the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Interior Design in 2016. In 2012 Contract Magazine named Verda Alexander and Primo Orpilla Designers of the Year. In 2015 they were inducted into Interior Design’s Hall of Fame.

Verda’s artist perspective and initiatives at O+A have spurred innovation at the forefront of workplace design and challenged received wisdom throughout the industry. She continues to work on expanding the dialogue between art, design, and climate activism. Verda’s experimental projects for O+A range from pop-up installations on the future of the office, a mobile design lab partnering with communities across California, and an open source toolkit called “The Eco Playbook,” challenging designers at her firm and across the industry to put planet and people first in the design process. As the editor at large for Metropolis Magazine, Verda works to advance new thinking around sustainability, equity, and regenerative design.

Leadership Award of Excellence Honoree:

Primo Orpilla
Co-Founder, Principal | Studio O+A

Studio O+A is an interiors firm that specializes in workplace design. Establishing the company with Verda Alexander in 1991, Primo drew on an early interest in design and a feel for the growing tech economy to orient O+A to a rapidly changing work environment. A champion of design as a multidisciplinary art form, O+A grew from a two-person space-planning operation into a full-service design studio. As a thought leader in workplace design, Primo has spearheaded numerous experimental initiatives—from pop-up installations to next-generation office prototypes for the future of workplace. Primo is a passionate advocate for design education, working to expand opportunities for young professionals and emerging talent. He is a frequent lecturer at design schools as well as global design conferences, where he shares insights on the evolving workplace and empowers the next generation of designers to create with purpose and authenticity.

Keynote Speaker

Kevin Bethune
Founder, Chief Creative Officer | dreams • design + life

Kevin Bethune is the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life , a "think tank" that delivers design & innovation services using a human-centered approach. Kevin's background spans engineering, business and design in equal proportion over his 20+ year career. Kevin's work represents creative problem-solving to see the future through an open aperture, and a deep industrial design approach to inform and influence desirable, feasible and business-viable design outcomes. Kevin began his career as a mechanical engineer in the nuclear power industry. This chapter gave him deep product experience working with high performing teams across 14 nuclear reactor upgrade campaigns. After his MBA, Kevin joined Nike, Inc. in a business capacity but quickly navigated to the Global Footwear product engine to drive advanced digital product creation capabilities, discovering the world of design in the process. Kevin carved his own path under the banner of dreams • design + life, focusing on unlocking human potential through strategic design, industrial design and the building of new ecologies.

Event Tickets:

RISE & SHINE SPONSOR | SOLD OUT
• Mimosa Beverage Sponsor
• VIP Seating
• 2 Full Tables (20 seats total)

LOCAL SPONSOR | $4,750
• Premium Seating
• 1 Full Table (10 seats total)

FULL TABLE | $3,500
• 1 Full Table (10 seats total)

HALF TABLE | $2,000
• 1 Half Table (5 seats total)

STUDENT SPONSOR | $150
• Cover the cost for a student to attend the event

INDIVIDUAL IIDA MEMBER TICKET | $250
• Open Area Seating (1 seat)

INDIVIDUAL IIDA NON-MEMBER TICKET | $300
• Open Area Seating (1 seat)

Location:
335 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA