Behind-the-Scenes Details From Kara Swisher's Final Code Conference
Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference featured high-profile speakers like Pete Buttigieg, Tim Cook, Mark Cuban, and Issa Rae—plus a fond farewell to 20-year host Kara Swisher.
Code Conference 2022 drew big-name speakers like U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. "This year was an exciting year of programming, with Kara [Swisher] reaching into her personal network to confirm some of the greatest speakers we have had at Code," explained Vox Media's Tara Reilly.
Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media
LOS ANGELES—Over the last 20 years, renowned journalist Kara Swisher has become known for conducting hard-hitting interviews from her signature red chairs during Vox Media's annual Code Conference. (Who can forget the time she and co-founder Walt Mossberg made Mark Zuckerberg literally sweat with their questions about user privacy?)
So the 2022 Code Conference, which took place Sept. 6-8 at the Beverly Hilton, struck a bittersweet tone as Swisher bid farewell to hosting and organizing the annual business-to-business tech event—which this year drew a who's-who of big-name speakers, including CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Andy Sassy, and Snap’s Evan Spiegel, plus politicians like Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Governor Gavin Newsom.
Tara Reilly, Vox Media's vice president of experiential and partnerships, described Code's speakers as "the top tier of Silicon Valley, politicians, and economists who shape the future of the industry." She explained, "For nearly two decades, Code has had a legacy of Kara Swisher leading conversations with tech and business giants, and our approach has remained focused on a strong emphasis on the topics and individuals that are top of mind—trailblazers, shifts, and major launches."
While emphasizing the future—like with an entire day devoted to innovations in climate change tech—Swisher's final conference was also a chance to look back.
"It definitely gave us an opportunity to work with her to curate the most amazing lineup of speakers, and to push ourselves to exceed her expectations on the event," Reilly said. "The focus on Kara’s last year also gave us an opportunity to reflect and highlight that, thanks to Kara’s influence and hard work, we have built an event that can continue on even in her absence."
In addition to the impressive speaker lineup, this year's invitation-only conference featured a number of smart innovations, including a virtual ticket option. While the in-person event is one of the most exclusive tickets around—according to Axios, only 20% of the 4,000 tech executives who apply are accepted, and registration fees range from $7,000-$9,500—organizers also offered a $150 virtual ticket this year.
Hosted by Zoom, the virtual ticket included access to all mainstage sessions and interviews, which were available both live and on-demand, as well as networking opportunities with other virtual attendees.
Reilly noted that the virtual component provided an impactful sponsorship opportunity, and the chance to scale the event for a reasonable price. "What we have seen as a result of the pandemic is that people are looking for more flexibility—[and] with the technology that companies like Zoom have in place, we are able to open up an event like Code to a much larger audience, providing an opportunity for inclusivity that is not restrained to the limits of time and space," she explained, adding the Vox Media hopes to continue using a hybrid model for its large-scale events in the future.
"We continue to see it as a mechanism for expanding our audience and accessibility for our events in a meaningful way," she said.
During the three-day event, organizers broke up the educational programming with a variety of networking sessions, morning workouts, event dinners, and interactive sponsor activations. "For Code Conference, attendees are there to see the substantive conversations taking place on the main stage, but they are equally interested in meeting and networking with other attendees, facilitated by networking events, power lunches, and the Code app," Reilly explained. "We find that creating natural ways to incorporate experiential elements for attendees to do while they are on-site is a great way to help our guests have fun and spark conversations and connections with others."
For other conference organizers who want to curate a similarly long-running—and headline-grabbing—conference, Reilly offered some advice: Focus on the experience, take some calculated risks, and don't neglect any details.
"It’s critical—from logistics to communications to programming, design, and even the curation of food and beverage—that every aspect of every detail is thought through, and that we ensure we are providing for our audiences exactly what they are looking for from that event," she says.
For Code Conference, Reilly noted, "the start-to-end consumer experience and high-touch ability to ensure that every need is met and that every question is answered is something we take a lot of pride in being able to execute flawlessly. It also means being open to risk-taking, to evolving, and to embracing the needs of today, which sometimes pushes people slightly out of the box."
And, she added, "that disruption of norms is where innovation frequently happens."
Scroll down for a closer look inside this year's Code Conference.