CEO Dinner at Vizcaya With Andre Dua and Ken Griffin
Luxe Fête is an experiential design studio in Miami that shapes gatherings for leaders, brands, and institutions. For the 4th Annual Miami and Florida CEO Dinner, co-hosted by Andre Dua, McKinsey & Company Senior Partner, and Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, we transformed Vizcaya Museum & Gardens into an environment built for conversation: where design, hospitality, and strategy worked in quiet harmony. Andre and Ken brought together more than 50 of Florida’s most influential leaders who have been central to Miami’s remarkable transformation to answer the question, “What will it take for Miami to become a top global destination in the next decade?”
An Experiential Study in Design, Connection and Purpose
This dinner explored the intersection of design, connection, and purpose. We approached Vizcaya as both setting and subject — using light, sound, and flow to shape conversation. The result: an atmosphere of ease and intention, where leadership met design.
The Concept
Serve the moment.
That’s the philosophy behind every Luxe Fête experience. Create conditions where everything unfolds naturally, so what remains is connection.
The Setting
Vizcaya’s classical architecture offered both grandeur and restraint. We approached it as a living frame – historic, textured, and distinctly Miami. Candlelight, symmetry, and soft acoustics created intimacy within scale, allowing the venue’s beauty to anchor, not compete with, the experience.
The Experience
Dinner unfolded as a sequence of small stories. Each course paired thoughtful cuisine with rare wines curated by our sommelier, turning service into narrative. Guests moved between moments of reflection and exchange, united by a shared sense of purpose and place.
The Execution
Precision made it effortless. Lighting that flatters. Sound that carries just enough. A pace that feels human. Our goal was to remove friction so that attention stayed on connection, which is the true measure of any successful gathering.
The Evening
What emerged was simple and intentional: a dinner that became a forum. Miami’s most influential voices, together in one space, imagining what comes next. The program centered on Miami’s trajectory over the next two decades, including a forward-looking vision for “Miami 2044” — a four-million-person, $800 billion economy driven by world-class education, advanced mobility, and expansion into aerospace, defense, finance, and technology. The dinner served as a forum for leaders shaping this next chapter, in alignment with the ongoing work of the Partnership for Miami.
Beautiful work happens when everything serves the moment.
About Luxe Fête
Luxe Fête is an experiential design studio creating high-impact gatherings for global brands and cultural leaders. Our work merges creative direction, hospitality, and spatial storytelling to craft experiences that leave lasting resonance. Recognized by Harper’s BAZAAR and BRIDES Magazine among the world’s leading event producers.
Follow US on Instagram
@LUXEFETE
The great American conductor, pianist and composer Michael Tilson Thomas has passed away. What an honor it was to work alongside MTT and his husband, Joshua Robison. Being in Michael’s presence shaped me in ways I’m still discovering. The lessons I carried most from him: let the work speak for itself. Be the same person in every room. And never be too important to share your genius.
A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, he envisioned something radical: an orchestral academy, a living laboratory for classical music. What began in a single room at the YMCA in Miami Beach grew into a world-class institution, ultimately housed in a stunning Frank Gehry-designed concert hall. NWS became exactly what he dreamed it would be: a place where the next generation of great musicians could be forged.
As Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, then Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, and a 12-time Grammy Award winner, Michael moved through the world with extraordinary reach. He was friends with people I had only seen on television or read about in books, and he was generous in his introductions: Mikhail Baryshnikov, the legendary soprano Jessye Norman, Yo-Yo Ma and Audra McDonald, to name just a few.
What I’ll remember most, though, is how accessible he chose to be. I once pitched him the idea of a Salon: an intimate gathering where young patrons could spend real time with him. It was unheard of. People simply did not have that kind of access. Without hesitation, he said yes. He never wanted to be untouchable. He wanted to share, to teach, to inspire.
I won’t share the stories he told me about his time with James Brown. But let’s just say this man was legendary in every sense of the word. I’m also looking back at these photos and laughing, just now noticing those are my dining chairs he’s sitting on. I schlepped those from my home to make the Salon evening beautiful.
New World Symphony gave our family some of its most treasured memories. The last video is Lucca at 4 years old, already convinced she was the conductor playing Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Rest in peace, Michael. Rest easy with Joshua. So much love and gratitude 💙
The most productive thing I did this spring was nothing. 🌺
“In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative.” -Twyla Tharp
Space is where the work begins.
Three days of music, design, and my daughters. Could not turn off my producer’s brain. Still processing.
@Coachella is one of the most sophisticated experiential designs in the world. A temporary city engineered to make strangers feel like they belong to something. The music is the heartbeat. The art installations and scenic design are everything holding it together.
The craft is invisible. That is the whole point.
We had the time of our lives. See for yourself at @missluxefete 🎪
#Coachella2026 #ExperientialDesign #EventProducer #LuxuryEvents #LuxeFete
Private dinner.
Board of directors.
Special guests.
Miami done right.
@sunnysmia is that rare room where the food is exceptional and the service anticipates you before you ask.
What also matters to us is what happens around the table.
Even executive protection teams notice. We move in a way that makes their job easier… and if I watch closely, I’ll catch the slightest smile break through.
That’s Luxe Fête.
#MiamiNights #LuxuryEvents #PrivateDining #LuxeFete #Hospitality
AMOR FATI. The love of one’s fate. Nietzsche’s formula for greatness. And perhaps, the quiet edge behind successful investing.
The privilege of exceptional clients is learning from them.
Recently, Universa Investments, founded by Mark Spitznagel, gathered over 200 of the world’s leading institutional investors aboard a 280-foot yacht for Universa Evening at Sea, a defining moment of Miami Hedge Fund Week. CIOs, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and institutional decision makers representing over $1T in assets, convened at sea.
An afternoon AI Masterclass oversubscribed, with a waitlist, and still not long enough. A conversation on uncertainty with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Universa’s Distinguished Scientist, alongside @Bloomberg’s Natalia Kniazhevich. And as the sun set, the vessel became something else entirely.
From Bernoulli’s St. Petersburg Paradox to modern tail risk hedging, the throughline has always been the same.
You do not control the sea. You learn how to navigate it.
At Luxe Fête, we begin by listening. Deeply. Then we build. We produced every dimension of this experience because we understood what it needed to be and who it needed to serve.
They should know.
AMOR FATI.
Produced by @luxefete
Dinner Under the Palms at the @miamibeachgarden
As co-chair alongside the wonderful @SandraDeering, it was an honor to help bring this evening to life and celebrate the launch of the Garden’s inaugural Fellows program. A moment that signals an exciting new chapter for this beloved Miami institution.
Guests gathered for a farm-to-fork dinner by Chef Michael Pirolo of @macchialina. And if you know, you know! 👩🏽🍳💋
We honored five remarkable Fellows whose work connects culture, science, and nature in inspiring ways. Raymond Jungles (@rjistudio), Emily Estefan (@emily_estefan), Jasmina Aganovic (@futuresociety), Andi Potamkin (@andiandiandi), and Karina Del Punta (@neuroxnature).
Grateful to the partners who made the evening possible.
@oribe | @clubaveli | @eternityprovisions | @futuresociety | @luxefete | @letterheadsmiami | @tdbank | @44northvodka
A reminder that the Miami Beach Botanical Garden is free and open to all. It’s one of Miami’s most beautiful public spaces and deserves your visit!
Nature. Culture. Community. 🌿
“Again.”
That was the instruction.
Not because it was bad.
Because it wasn’t perfect yet.
This is the standard we believe in. The choreography of service. The discipline behind hospitality.
A beautiful setting is just the beginning.
What makes it unforgettable is the precision behind every moment.
A Luxe Fête dinner for twelve.
Cc: @creativeedgeparties. Brava.
Cadillac F1 Team is ready. Are you?
Honored to have played a role in this historic moment. Luxe Fête produced the VIP celebration leading up to the car livery reveal in Times Square. The energy was electric from start to finish.
A stunning reveal where a frosted glass countdown dissolved to unveil an absolute beauty the @CadillacF1 Team has dreamed into reality.
Thank you to our partners at @TimesSquareEdition for an unforgettable evening marking history.
Vamos. To the moon. 🚀
#CadillacF1 #F1 #Formula1 #ExperientialMarketing #ExperientialDesign
After producing the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix Paddock Club, Fortune 500 dinners or weddings around the world, I’ve learned that clients investing at this level aren’t just paying for flowers and linens. They’re partnering with experiential design studios that bring strategic vision, institutional knowledge, and the operational infrastructure to execute flawlessly. Partners that transform their celebration into a cultural moment.
The million-dollar celebrations flooding Instagram don’t show the infrastructure behind them: years of vendor relationships, proprietary production methodologies, and design expertise that can’t be replicated.
It’s an incredible feeling to lead, inspire and have this kind of impact.
I enjoyed contributing these insights to Ivy Manners’ (@bridesstyle) piece for @nytimes on wedding costs and how social media shapes expectations.
📰 Read the full piece: @nytimes
#ExperientialMarketing #LuxuryHospitality #CorporateEvents #BrandActivations #VIPExperiences #Fortune500 #LuxuryEventProduction #MiamiLuxury #GlobalEvents #NYTimes #FormulaOne #ExecutiveEvents #InstitutionalGatherings #LuxeFete #EventStrategy
What will it take for Miami to become a top global destination in the next decade?
Last month at @vizcaya_museum, we produced the 4th Annual “Future of Miami & Florida” CEO Dinner — co-hosted by Andre Dua, @McKinseyCo Senior Partner, and Ken Griffin, CEO of @Citadel — bringing together more than 50 of Florida’s most influential leaders who have helped shape Miami’s remarkable transformation.
During the evening, Andre shared his forward-looking vision for Miami 2044, outlining an inspiring blueprint for the region’s continued ascent, including:
• Building a four-million-person, $800 billion economy
• Growing Miami beyond its traditional industries into aerospace, defense, infrastructure, finance, and technology
• Creating one of the nation’s strongest urban school systems, with more than 90% of children reading and doing math at grade level
• Developing advanced mobility systems that allow travel anywhere in Miami-Dade in under an hour
We transformed Vizcaya Museum & Gardens into an environment built for conversation: where design, hospitality, and strategy worked in quiet harmony.
Beautiful work happens when everything serves the moment.
Photos: @gesischilling
#FutureOfMiami #Miami2044 #MiamiLeadership #ExperientialDesign #HighImpactEvents #ExecutiveExperiences #PartnershipForMiami #LuxeFete #DesigningImpact #EventStrategy #LuxuryEventProducer #ExecutiveExperiences #HighImpactEvents
BTS | South Florida Federal Bar Association Installation and Gala.
An incredible night at the Mayfair Hotel and Gardens — installing the new board and celebrating the legacy law firms of Miami who continue to shape its future.
Favorite moments: my team surprising me with Haitian food sent by the hotel staff (thank you for sharing!), letting loose and dancing with the client at the end of a successful night, and, of course, my white gloves. 🤍 #Let’sParty
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.