Glimpses of Joy: Scenes from the GABA Gala 2025

May 15, 2025
2025, Past Events, Special Events

What a night! The GABA Gala 2025 was filled with laughter, great conversations, and so many familiar faces coming together to celebrate our vibrant transatlantic community. From heartfelt reunions to new connections, the evening truly captured the spirit of GABA — bringing people together around shared values, big ideas, and a bit of sparkle.

Once again, our heartfelt congratulations go to Richard Socher, this year’s recipient of the GABA Award of Excellence. We were deeply honored not only by his presence, but also by the many distinguished guests who joined us in celebration — including Oliver Schramm, Consul General of Germany in San Francisco; Eckart Würzner, Lord Mayor of Heidelberg; Ed Lauing, Mayor of Palo Alto; and Council Member Pat Burt.

A special thank-you as well to our past Award of Excellence recipients — Patricia Roller, Sebastian Thrun, and Konstantin Guericke — for returning to celebrate with us.

We are very grateful to our official GABA photographer, Monica May, who beautifully captured the spirit and special moments of the evening. See the wonderful memories of the GABA Gala 2025 here.

Furthermore, we extend our sincere thanks to all the sponsors who helped make this unforgettable evening possible — especially our Gold Sponsor SAP, our Silver Sponsor Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, and our Bronze Sponsor Rüter und Partner. Your support means the world to us and enables GABA to continue fostering dialogue, connection, and collaboration.

Our amazing raffle prizes were generously provided by Lufthansa Group, BMW of North America, Peter Pan BMW, Penske Automotive, and Porsche Stevens Creek.

A big thank-you also goes to our wine sponsors: Michelle and Scott Willoughby of Seebass Winery in Mendocino County, Claudia Schug of Schug Winery in Sonoma County, and Dylan Stine from Seven Seals Whisky. And of course, thank you to our dessert sponsor, Smashing Dishes, for the sweet finale to the evening!

For more great pictures of the event, please see our event photo album here.

We look forward to seeing you all at the GABA Gala 2026, when GABA will celebrate its 25th anniversary.