San Francisco's 'Dream Team' of Power Brokers Secretly Plot City Rebranding Effort
A clandestine coalition of California's most influential power brokers has been convening in recent months to devise strategies for overhauling San Francisco's severely damaged reputation. This covert movement, operating under the codename SF Identity, is being spearheaded by Mayor Daniel Lurie as a comprehensive action plan to rehabilitate the city's public image.
High-Profile Meetings and Key Participants
Discreet gatherings have taken place over the last several months involving some of the most prominent names in technology, philanthropy, and retail. Participants include philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive, and Gap CEO Richard Dickson.
Records obtained by the San Francisco Standard reveal a significant meeting held on December 3 at the LoveFrom offices, the design firm founded by Jony Ive in 2019. This gathering included Mayor Lurie's chief of housing and economic development, Ned Segal, alongside LoveFrom designer Chris Wilson. A memo from this meeting described it as a follow-up meeting with the SF Identity team to discuss a San Francisco branding campaign.
This December meeting followed two earlier assemblies in September and June, which also saw the participation of Rich Silverstein and Jim Elliott from the renowned advertising firm Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
Connections to Previous Initiatives and Mayor Lurie
While specific details about the SF Identity group's current efforts remain somewhat opaque, a source informed the Standard that the collective is viewed as the next version of a 2023 Super Bowl commercial produced by Goodby Silverstein & Partners titled It All Starts Here. That previous advertising campaign, funded by Ripple CEO Chris Larsen and Gap chairman Bob Fisher, represented an earlier attempt to elevate San Francisco's image in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
All individuals known to be involved with SF Identity maintain connections to Mayor Lurie or his nonprofit organization, the Tipping Point Community. The Standard reported that Jony Ive has made donations to this nonprofit, further intertwining the participants with the mayor's broader philanthropic and civic efforts.
The Urgent Need for Rebranding
The push to transform San Francisco's narrative comes against a backdrop of significant urban challenges. Official government data indicates that in 2024, the city's homeless population continued its upward trajectory, surpassing 8,000 individuals. Furthermore, the Medical Examiner's Office reported that overdose deaths in San Francisco approached 600 fatalities in 2025.
Local business owners consistently cite rampant drug use and pervasive homelessness as primary factors driving away customer foot traffic, leading many to make the difficult decision to permanently close their establishments. This economic and social deterioration has created a pressing imperative for image rehabilitation and substantive policy intervention.
Mayor Lurie's Broader Revitalisation Agenda
Since his election last year, Mayor Daniel Lurie has made the revitalisation of Downtown San Francisco a central mission of his administration. In September, he unveiled his ambitious Heart of the City directive, which aims to turn San Francisco's downtown into a vibrant neighborhood where people live, work, play, and learn.
To support this vision, Lurie has leveraged more than $40 million in funding dedicated to ensuring clean and safe streets, enhancing public spaces, and providing crucial support to small businesses. His administration reports achieving a 40 percent reduction in crime within Union Square and the Financial District during his first year in office.
In a public statement regarding his downtown initiative, Mayor Lurie declared: To continue accelerating downtown's comeback, we are prioritizing safe and clean streets, supporting small businesses, drawing new universities to San Francisco, and activating our public spaces with new parks and entertainment zones—all while mobilizing private investment to help us achieve results. We have a lot of work to do, but the heart of our city is beating once again.
Integrating Arts and Culture into the Recovery
Parallel to the SF Identity rebranding efforts, Mayor Lurie has announced significant advancements in a citywide arts and cultural strategy. A key component involves recruiting a new executive director of arts and culture for San Francisco.
A release from the mayor's office explained that this newly created position will oversee the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and the Film Commission under a unified organizational structure and vision. The goal is to ensure that the arts remain a cornerstone of San Francisco’s identity and economic vitality. This executive director will act as Mayor Lurie's principal advisor on policies designed to advance the city's creative economy, promote cultural equity and preservation, and expand public arts programming.
Mayor Lurie emphasized the importance of this role, stating: San Francisco’s artists and cultural institutions are central to our city’s identity and our future, and they’re a powerful driver of our economic recovery. As we look ahead, it’s critical that we find the right leader to guide the next phase of San Francisco’s unified arts and culture strategy. This new role will help strengthen our creative economy, support working artists through grants, invest in public art that adds vibrancy to our neighborhoods, and bring energy, jobs, and people back to San Francisco.
This strategic appointment is part of Lurie's broader objective to introduce greater coordination and transparency into the city's allocation of grants and resources for artists and arts organizations.
Recent Cultural and Economic Initiatives
The mayor's office has launched several complementary programmes to stimulate the cultural sector. In November, Mayor Lurie introduced SF LIVE, a comprehensive citywide guide and online events calendar intended to boost ticket sales for live arts venues. During the summer, he inaugurated a free downtown concert series and celebrated the Summer of Music, initiatives reported to have generated over $150 million in local economic impact.
Furthermore, through the San Francisco Arts Commission, Lurie has directed more than $10.4 million in grants to 145 individual artists and arts nonprofits. An additional $14 million in local arts and culture funding has been distributed via Grants for the Arts.
External Endorsement and Corporate Collaboration
Gap chairman Bob Fisher commented on the creation of the new arts director role, noting that it signals real commitment from the city. Fisher elaborated: A single leader reporting to the mayor creates clarity, accountability, and momentum. It should improve access for artists, simplify the experience for grantees, and give the philanthropic community a clear partner inside City Hall. That alignment is essential if we want stronger results for San Francisco’s creative community.
The collaboration with corporate leaders extends beyond philanthropy. In October, following a meeting between Gap CEO Richard Dickson and City Hall department heads, Mayor Lurie posted a video praising Dickson's leadership. Lurie remarked: Gap’s renaissance mirrors what our city is going through. You are such an inspiring leader. This statement underscores the perceived parallel between corporate transformation and urban renewal at the heart of the SF Identity project.
The concerted, multi-faceted campaign led by Mayor Lurie—encompassing secretive rebranding meetings with elite power brokers, substantial public safety investments, and a revitalised arts strategy—represents a determined effort to rewrite San Francisco's narrative and catalyse a comprehensive urban recovery.
