Prologis Helps Raise $7M for Global Trade Summit in SF

Prologis has joined heavy hitters in San Francisco to donate up to $1 million each to bring the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to town.

The San Francisco-based industrial development firm stepped up with other local companies to raise nearly $7 million, or a third of the fundraising goal for the November gathering of delegates from 21 Pacific Rim member economies, the San Francisco Standard reported.

The APEC 2023 confab during the week of Nov. 12 will put San Francisco under a global spotlight under the theme of “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All.”

It’s also a chance for San Francisco to help burnish its image as a business hub. In recent years, the city’s reputation has been marred by its empty downtown, open-air drug use, homelessness and property crime, according to the Standard.

The summit will bring together leaders from 21 countries for an event founded in 1989 that has been key to creating international trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The main APEC event is known as Leaders Week, a gathering of heads of state and other government officials, including President Joe Biden. Overlapping with that event is the CEO Summit, Nov. 14-16 at Moscone Center West.

The CEO Summit is expected to draw 1,000 political and business leaders from member nations for “two days of robust dialogue on global opportunities and challenges shaping economic, environmental and societal trends in the region.”

The event has corporate sponsors ranging from Mountain View-based Google and United Parcel Service, based in Atlanta, to San Francisco-based Visa. The city aims to raise $20 million toward hosting the event.

According to the Mayor’s Office, $6.75 million has been raised from local companies and organizations, including $1 million each from Salesforce, Sutter Health, Visa, biotech company Mebo and Prologis.

DoorDash and Genstar Capital donated $500,000 each, with the Fisher family of Gap fame contributing $250,000, as did Orrick. Barbro Osher and SV Angel rounded out the donations with $125,000 each.

Preparations are already rigorous, with police officers prohibited from requesting vacation for a 10-day period, Nov. 9 to 18, according to the Standard.

— Dana Bartholomew