Silicon Valley's Top Brass Gathers for All Things D Conference

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., May 28, 2013 — -- CEO of Apple Tim Cook. COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg. CEO of Twitter Dick Costolo.

Yes, those are some of the top minds and leaders in Silicon Valley, but this week they are just a few of the top technology executives speaking at the 11th annual All Things D Conference at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Those three big names will be joined by such other digital luminaries as Kazuo Hirai, the president and CEO of Sony, and Sundar Pichai, the man now in charge of Google's Android and Chrome operating systems.

The conference, which kicks off tonight with an interview with Cook (6 p.m. PT, 9 P.m. ET, which ABC News will be live blogging), is put on by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, the two founders of the All Things D technology news website. It concludes Thursday afternoon. Tickets go for $5,500.

Arianna Huffington and Martha Stewart have attended previous D conferences, and this year Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Space X, takes the stage, along with such Hollywood trailblazers as Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun.

RELATED: Live Coverage of Tim Cook at the All Things D Conference

The conference is more than just prepared speeches. Mossberg and Swisher grill the speakers about the industry, their future plans and the impact of technology. "It is different from other conferences: no canned speeches, no marketing pitches, and no bull," the All Things D website says. "The results are unprecedented glimpses into the ideas and strategies of the industry's most creative thinkers."

At last year's conference Cook revealed that Siri and Facebook enhancements were coming to the iPhone, and Aaron Sorkin dissected the characters in HBO's "The Newsroom."

ABC News will be covering the event, starting tonight (at 6 p.m. PT, 9 p.m. ET) with a liveblog of Cook's interview.