Ignoring Perception, Financial Firm Says Viva Las Vegas

SkyBridge Capital’s 2009 decision to meet in Las Vegas – in defiance of negative perception surrounding meetings held in resort destinations – turned out to be a sound investment.

At the time, financial companies were not only cancelling meetings to Las Vegas in droves, but halting meetings everywhere. The AIG scandal, where that company’s executives continued with a lavish incentive trip even after the company was bailed out by the federal government, was still a fresh memory. So were President Obama’s now infamous remarks about visiting Vegas.

But SkyBridge Capital decided in May of 2009 to hold their first SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) conference in Las Vegas. Since then SkyBridge Capital has continued to hold its conference annually in Las Vegas and it has grown each year – from about 500 in 2009 to 2,100 this past May.

Speakers over the years have included Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Colin Powell and Gordon Brown, former prime minister of Great Britain.

Travel Market Report spoke to Victor Oviedo, a SkyBridge Capital partner, about the company’s relationship with Las Vegas – and what makes SALT different.

Why did you decide to hold the meeting in Las Vegas in 2009 – in light of the political climate at that time?
Oviedo: We were a young company, started in 2005. At the time it was difficult for financial firms who wanted to hold a conference and that was our first ever event. Many of our counterparts had deserted Las Vegas. We had always attended conferences ourselves, usually run by firms much larger than our own.

Our viewpoint was that in a time of crisis it was the right time to hold a meeting to bring people together, identify issues and solutions, and see how we could work with each other. We wanted to assemble attendees from the fields of macroeconomics, public policy and investment strategy.  We were disappointed that all those events were cancelled at that time.

We stuck with Las Vegas even though the spotlight was on them for two reasons. One, they needed help and we knew they would be willing to help us as well. And second, when you think of putting on a five-star event with five-star facilities and entertainment at a reasonable price, there is not a city on the planet that has more to offer than Las Vegas.  

How did that first conference go?
Oviedo: At the time, being a financial company was an obstacle to a successful meeting, but it was much more of a success than we could have imagined, in large part because of our own team. But we could not have done it without the support of the key players in Las Vegas, including the mayor of the city and the governor of Nevada.

Hotels also laid out the red carpet. That first one was at the Wynn and Steve Wynn himself was involved. Since then we have been at the Bellagio. We had slightly less than 500 people in 2009.

We produced that event in eight weeks and planned it shortly after the president’s remarks about Las Vegas. A lot of people wanted to attend but couldn’t. And a lot of attendees wouldn’t allow us to list their company name in the conference information because of public scrutiny, scrutiny that was somewhat shortsighted.

How is SALT different from other conferences?
Oviedo: There is a heavy focus not just on content, but on bringing together people from different arenas – with the emphasis on networking. When you bring these people into a room, they should have opportunities not only to share ideas but share an experience and to provide a way to help build and solidify those relationships.

We have a deep Rolodex at SkyBridge and we are focused on senior leadership. We are able to reach out to those leaders and ask them directly for their participation. We are not a conference company and not focused on the bottom line as far as the meeting. That enables us to bring in a different mix of people without worrying about making a profit.

SALT is our company’s public face and any money we do take in is plowed back into the next conference. When you go to a conference for the bigger blue chip firms, it’s all about their associates and their clients. We act more like a Switzerland – we are not there to create a SkyBridge platform. We invite our competition to events and give them opportunities to speak. We promote the industry as a whole.

Do you use a professional meeting planner?
Oviedo: We do everything in house, but do work with a production company called Vision Matrix. We think it played to our advantage in the beginning that we didn’t know what we were doing. It forced us to think about doing things differently. We still try to maintain that spirit.
 
How has the event changed?
Oviedo: We have added business leadership and philanthropy as major elements. We have really broadened the philanthropy aspect. If you’re bringing that many leaders of prominence into one room, it’s important to bring in philanthropy because many of those people are active in that area. Also, we will now try to cap attendance to maintain the level of intimacy that we like.

Tell us about Singapore SALT.
Oviedo: We will have our first Asia SALT at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in October. This will be a similar event to Las Vegas but with a very different audience. The SALT brand has spread overseas and we are getting a tremendous amount of inquiries, so there might be more opportunities for SALT conferences.

That means great visibility for us. Our core business remains investment and this helps us network and identify business opportunities. We will continue to extend tickets to our competitors and other people outside the country. Our feeling is that it’s much easier to collaborate and that’s what SALT is all about.

Will you continue to meet annually in Las Vegas?
Oviedo: We have developed a bond with the folks in Las Vegas. We don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.