General Partner and Designer, Stanlee Gatti

In the two decades he has lived and worked in San Francisco, Stanlee R. Gatti has-in his unpretentious yet distinctly grand style-cut a wide swath in San Francisco society, arts and politics. With an unfailing eye for art and a penchant for philanthropy, Gatti has designed some of the most elegant and exclusive events in the country while magnanimously donating his talents and the efforts of his staff to numerous charities, as well as to the city of San Francisco, for which he has served as Arts Commission president since 1996.

Gatti operates Stanlee R. Gatti Designs-his full-service event design firm-from his swank office and studio located in San Francisco's artsy South of Market neighborhood. Specializing in creating a visual ambiance for events from intimate gatherings to corporate conferences, Gatti's services run the gamut of event design, from floral and lighting design to table settings, linens and party favors.

Possessing a client roster that resembles a veritable "who's who" of San Francisco's social and political sets, Gatti has orchestrated hundreds of events, from Willie L. Brown's mayoral inauguration (served as co-chair), to affairs for New Yorker Editor Tina Brown, San Francisco Symphony Former President Nancy Bechtle, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and the Fairmont Hotel (such as the 1990 luncheon honoring former Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev).

His work has also been seen at a host of fashion shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, as well as in boutique openings, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and numerous weddings. Gatti has designed over 100 events for San Francisco Chief of Protocol, Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, including her wedding to former Secretary of State, George Shultz. Other Gatti weddings include those of Esprit founders Susie and Doug Tompkins as well as her daughter, designer Summer Tompkins.

Gatti's charity-oriented efforts began in September of 1986, when he was hired to design and decorate Davies Symphony Hall and the Tent Pavilion for San Francisco Symphony's 75th anniversary gala. Since then he has designed the patrons' dinner tent at every season opening (winning Special Events magazine's "Tent of the Year" award in 1990) and Black and White Ball (San Francisco Symphony's biennial million-dollar fund raiser). He has also designed events for the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, SF MOMA, Asian Art Museum, de Young Museum, and The Center for the Arts. Gatti's refined yet liberal aesthetic sense, coupled with his benevolent slant, earned him the appointment of San Francisco Arts Commissioner president in 1996.

Nearly 20 years earlier, Gatti began his career as a florist at the St. Francis Hotel Flower Shop in San Francisco. Gatti was quickly promoted (within one year) to Hospitality Manager for the hotel, a position created specially for him. There he oversaw all the details of VIP special events in the hotel and stopovers by visiting heads of state including Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan. Gatti remained at the St. Francis Hotel until 1987, when he departed to establish Stanlee R. Gatti Flowers, a floral shop offering an exclusive selection of rare and imported flowers, located in San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel.

Born and raised in Raton, New Mexico, Gatti attended the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Oregon, where he earned a degree in Liberal Arts. In 1978, he moved to San Francisco where he still resides.