San Francisco, CA  ·  Available for engagements

Bradley
Gottesman

Event Strategist. I create intentional experiences and inspiring moments that resonate with audiences and deliver measurable results — from 50-person activations to 45,000-person Dreamforce zones.

20+
Years of experience
45K
Dreamforce zone visitors
14+
Industry awards
01 / About

Experiences
that move
people forward

With over 20 years in experiential and event strategy, I've built programs from the ground up for some of the world's most recognized brands. From conceiving Salesforce's Trailhead event universe to leading Redis through a global brand refresh, my work sits at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and unforgettable execution.

I'm a creative disruptor who blends experience design, behavioral economics, and human-centered thinking to craft moments that don't just engage — they convert. Whether it's a 1,200-person summit or an immersive pop-up, I deliver ROI while making people feel something real.

Strategic Planning
Experience Design
P&L Management
Team Leadership
Stakeholder Alignment
Hybrid & Virtual Events
Brand Activation
Behavioral Economics
BSBA Ohio State University
02 / Selected Work

Events that
define
the brand

From Dreamforce's iconic Trailhead Zone to the Army Experience Center — 20+ years of programs across tech, entertainment, government, and beyond. Every event is a story told in real time.

📸 Dreamforce / Trailhead Zone photo
Experiential
Dreamforce Trailhead Zone
Salesforce · 45,000 unique visitors · Highest event experience score
📸 Redis Days virtual event photo
Conference
Redis Days Global Series
Redis Inc. · 20%+ YoY pipeline growth · 2022–2023
📸 TrailheaDX India photo
Conference
TrailheaDX India
Salesforce · First devcon in India · WOW Award 2020
📸 Ray Summit / Anyscale photo
Summit
Ray Summit by Anyscale
1,200-person open source user conference · Executive Producer
📸 Army Experience Center photo
Brand Activation
Army Experience Center
$12.5M immersive pop-up · Effie Award · London International Award
📸 SFMOMA Soapbox Derby photo
Community
SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
2022 Honorarium & Kids Choice Award
📸 AMD Area-64 or Momentum Worldwide event photo
Experiential
AMD Area-64 Launch
Momentum Worldwide · 5M+ website hits · Front page WSJ · 700 intl. press clips
45K Dreamforce Zone Visitors
20%+ YoY Pipeline Growth
163% TrailheaDX Attendance Growth
14+ Industry Awards Won
03 / Services

How I can help
your brand

✦
Experiential Strategy & Activations

From concept to execution, I design immersive brand experiences that surprise, engage, and convert audiences into advocates. Built on behavioral economics and human-centered design principles.

  • Immersive concept development
  • Pop-ups & semi-permanent venues
  • Consumer & B2B activations
  • Launch events & product reveals
  • Sponsorship & 3rd party events
◆
Corporate Events & Brand Conferences

Strategic planning and end-to-end production for corporate events that align internal culture, reinforce brand values, and build meaningful stakeholder relationships at every scale.

  • Company kick-offs & summits
  • Customer-facing conferences
  • Executive & board offsites
  • Internal culture events
  • Cross-functional program management
▲
Conferences & Developer Summits

Proven expertise producing large-scale technical conferences that drive developer community growth, generate pipeline, and establish your brand as a category leader.

  • Open source user conferences
  • Developer & devcon programs
  • AI & tech hackathon events
  • Hybrid & virtual event pivots
  • Expo & trade show strategy
04 / Creative Work

Where strategy
meets soul

Beyond the brief, I believe the best events have an artistic core. Community projects, creative experiments, and passion-driven productions inform everything I bring to client work.

Soapbox Derby 1
📸 Add photo
SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
Soapbox Derby 2
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SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
Soapbox Derby 3
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SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
Soapbox Derby 4
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SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
Creative Event 1
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Drake's Brewery Production
Creative Event 2
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Community Activation
Creative Event 3
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Experiential Design
Creative Event 4
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Brand Storytelling
📸 Best Soapbox Derby photo here
Replace in CSS: .art-soapbox-img background-image
⭐ 2022 SFMOMA Honorarium & Kids Choice Award

SFMOMA
Soapbox Derby

A passion project that brought together community, creativity, and competition in one of San Francisco's most beloved cultural institutions. This work earned both the SFMOMA Honorarium and the Kids Choice Award in 2022 — proof that the best events create joy that transcends any brand brief.

Brands & Organizations I've Worked With

Salesforce Redis Anyscale MongoDB Lattice VMware General Motors American Express Nike AMD Qualcomm Activision Schneider Electric RSA Conference HubSpot Quaker Oats Drake's Brewery U.S. Army Yahoo Hawaii Tourism
05 / Experience

A track record
built to impress

2024–Present ● Now
Experiential Consultant
Freelance · San Francisco, CA
  • MongoDB, TedAI, PyTorch: Produced AI hackathon events driving developer marketing innovation
  • Executive Producer for Ray Summit by Anyscale — 1,200-person open source user conference
  • Advised Lattice through virtual-to-hybrid transition including Pay Day and Lattiverse 2024
  • Creative coaching and video production for Drake's Brewery new SKU launch
2021–2023
Global Head of Events
Redis Inc. · San Francisco, CA
  • Led events team from strategy through execution for all live and virtual experiences
  • Delivered YoY pipeline growth of 20%+ across sponsorships in 2022 and 2023
  • Refreshed brand and creative materials; strategic pivot to Redis Days virtual series during Covid
2018–2021
Director, Trailhead Events & Experiences
Salesforce · San Francisco, CA
  • Conceived and designed the immersive experiences that became the Trailhead marketing portfolio
  • Led Dreamforce 2021 as a safe hybrid experience — first in-person gathering in nearly two years
  • Introduced TrailheaDX India — Salesforce's first Devcon and largest-ever event in India
  • Transitioned team to virtual focus in 2020; won WOW Award Asia for Corporate Conference of the Year
2016–2018
Senior Manager, Trailhead Events
Salesforce · San Francisco, CA
  • Built Trailhead's event presence from zero — Dreamforce, World Tours, product launches
  • Led TrailheaDX from pilot → Moscone West, growing attendance 163% then 70% year over year
  • Trailhead Zone at Dreamforce earned highest event experience scores with 45,000+ unique visitors
2015–2016
Developer Program Manager
Salesforce · San Francisco, CA
  • Developed experiential programs for Salesforce developer community
  • Initiated process for managing agency partners and vendors for measurable events
2011–2014
Strategist
Nth Degree · San Francisco, CA
  • Event strategy for 50–30,000+ attendee events: VMware, RSA Conference, Schneider Electric, Qualcomm
  • Directed pitches generating $10M+ in new business wins
2008–2009
Event & Project Manager
Ignited · Los Angeles, CA
  • Managed concept, design, construction, P&L and launch of the $12.5M Army Experience Center
  • Supervised Activision's E3 build — Call of Duty launch; Activision's largest trade show spend of the year
2003–2006
Account Executive
Momentum Worldwide · Los Angeles, CA
  • Experiential programs for GM, American Express, Nike, AMD, Yahoo, Declare Yourself
  • AMD "Area-64" launch: 5M+ website hits, front-page WSJ, 700 international press clippings in 8 days
06 / Awards & Recognition

Recognized for
excellence

2022
Honorarium & Kids Choice Award
SFMOMA Soapbox Derby
2020
Best Production of an Event (B2B)
Dreamforce to You
2020
Corporate Conference of the Year (250+ Delegates)
WOW Awards Asia · TrailheaDX India
2018
Trailhead Ranger
Salesforce
2016
Unofficial Chief Fun Officer
Salesforce
2014
Audience Award
Comedy Hack Day
2010
Bronze — Brand Experience
Effie Award · Army Experience Center
2009
Bronze — The NEW Category
London International Awards · Army Experience Center
2009
Silver Ex — Best Mall Event
Corporate EVENT Awards · Army Experience Center
2006
Ex Award — Best Produced Event
Corporate EVENT Awards · Declare Yourself
2005
Non-Profit Category Winner
Reggie Awards · Declare Yourself
2003
Judges Choice Award — Performance Tier
Corporate EVENT Awards · AMD Area-64
2003
Target Market Promo Category
Reggie Awards · AMD Area-64
2004
IPG Chairman's Award for Organic Growth
Interpublic Group
07 / Contact

Let's build
something
extraordinary

Ready to create an experience your audience will never forget? Whether it's a global summit, an intimate activation, or an entirely new event concept — let's talk strategy.

Location San Francisco, CA