🍽️ Good People Dinner — New York

Presented by Svitla Systems

Some of the most meaningful conversations happen around a shared table. Svitla Systems invites you to an exclusive evening of thoughtful dialogue and chef-crafted cuisine through their acclaimed Good People Dinners series — a gathering designed specifically for senior tech executives who prize authenticity, genuine connection, and trust.

This is a private, by-invitation event with very limited capacity. Register here to be considered.

🎤 Featured Speaker: Dario Calmese

Dario Calmese is an American creative director, photographer, and design theorist whose practice spans photography, fashion, design, and performance. His work interrogates how image, environment, and technology intersect with identity, lived experience, and cultural narrative — consistently challenging conventional systems of representation to open space for new perspectives.

In 2020, Dario made history as the first Black photographer to shoot a Vanity Fair coverin the magazine's 106-year history, capturing a now-iconic portrait of Viola Davis. That same year, he foundedThe Institute of Black Imagination— a global platform championing Black creativity and cultural production across art, design, technology, and beyond.

For this evening, Dario will spark a wide-ranging conversation touching on:

• 🤖 How AI is reshaping who gets to create images — and whose stories get amplified
• 🌍 What it means to build systems that genuinely reflect the full spectrum of human experience
• 🪞 How technology reinforces or disrupts identity, representation, and memory
• 🎨 What tech leaders can draw from creative practice when building with intention
• 💡 Why true innovation demands expanding whose imagination we draw from

Expect a discussion that is culturally sharp, expansive, and deeply relevant for leaders navigating the crossroads of creativity, systems thinking, and the future.

👨‍🍳 Dinner Chef: Rala Ziadeh

The evening's menu will be crafted byChef Rala Ziadeh, whose culinary story is rooted inAleppo— a city celebrated worldwide for its extraordinary food heritage. Raised in a kitchen where her grandmother's mastery of seasonal preservation shaped everything from rose jam and tomato paste to pickles, dried vegetables, and homemade liquors, Rala learned early that every technique carries a story and nothing goes to waste.

After years in Damascus and Canada, Rala now callsBrooklynhome, where she channels her Syrian culinary lineage into an intimate, deeply personal cooking practice — one that honors the flavors of her childhood while embracing the warmth of her adopted city.

For this dinner, Rala presents a menu built onmemory, heritage, and the generosity of the table — food that carries within it the love and care of everyone who came before.

✨ What to Expect

• 🥂 An intimate, private gathering for senior tech executives
• 💬 A thought-provoking keynote conversation with Dario Calmese
• 🍴 An extraordinary chef-crafted Syrian-inspired menu by Rala Ziadeh
• 🤝 A carefully curated room built for authentic, meaningful connection

Capacity is extremely limited. The venue address will be shared upon registration.

👉 Register to be considered