San Diego Magazine and HATCH‘s newest event, Behind the Brands, will engage the community in conversation about the future of San Diego’s ever-evolving business landscape over Q&As, workshops, art, food and drinks and live music. The party will take place on February 1st, 5:30 – 8 p.m. at IDEA1 in East Village.

Tickets are $55. They are limited and will sell out. Entry to the Behind the Brands party will include the following:

• Speakers from Taylor Guitars, ViaSat, Illumina, Product Etc and ESET will take part in 15-minute moderated Q&As to talk about their roles and what they see in the future for their respective companies and San Diego
• Networking over food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries such as San Diego Poke Co., Nomad Donuts, Ambrogio15, Boochcraft, and more
• Mini workshops for resume building, pitching, cyber security and more
• Live music by a local band
• Interactive art installations and DIY stations
• Swag

You know the brand. Now meet the people that make it.

Illumina | Karen Possemato – Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communications
In her role as vice president of Corporate Marketing and Communications, Karen Possemato oversees all communications for the business, including philanthropy and community engagement. Illumina, the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-base technology, is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome.

Product Etc | Jordan Stark – Founder
Product Etc is an arts and communication design firm started by Jordan Stark in 2004. Examples of Stark’s work can be found throughout San Diego; from the award winning artwork for Music Box San Diego, to co-founding the “Bring Back the Brown” campaign; which catalyzed the local community and petitioned the San Diego Padres to reintroduce brown back into their identity.

Taylor Guitars | Bob Taylor – Co-founder and President
As the co-founder and president of Taylor Guitars, the world’s most recognizable manufacture of acoustic and electric guitars, Bob Taylor has pioneered advancements in both guitar design and process, and developed many of the innovations used across the industry.

ViaSat | Melinda Del Toro – Senior Vice President, People and Culture
ViaSat, Inc. is a global communications company that delivers billions of secure, high-quality connections to ensure consumers, businesses, governments and military personnel have communications access on the ground, in the air and at sea. Melinda Del Toro leads the development of crucial and award-winning programs that focus on the health and well-being of the company’s 3,400+ global employees.

ESET | Tony Anscombe – Global Security Evangelist 
Tony Anscombe is the Global Security Evangelist for ESET, one of the largest global IT security software companies. With over 20 years of security industry experience, Anscombe is an established author, blogger and speaker on the current threat landscape, security technologies and products, data protection, privacy and trust, and Internet safety.