Los Angeles (CNN Business) Evan Spiegel opened up Snapchat in more ways than one this week.

Spiegel, who doesn't often talk about the company's strategies or his personal life, showed off a new side to himself and the company at Snap's first ever Partner Summit on Thursday.

Dressed in typical Silicon Valley attire — in this case, a black hoodie, black jeans and bright white sneakers — the Snap CEO wandered freely around the Los Angeles-based event, which highlighted new product and business announcements. Spiegel mingled with attendees, mostly developers, press, advertisers and content partners, and tested out some of Snapchat's latest augmented reality features in its demo areas.

Unlike many executives at major tech companies, he made himself accessible to the crowds without a pack of handlers.

Spiegel speaks at the Snap Partner Summit in Los Angeles.

The openness mirrored changes happening at his company, which has long been considered a walled garden. Snapchat doesn't have a news feed where users can share outside links or content. Everything has taken place within the confines of the app, and publishers who want to create content must be vetted and approved by Snap's team.

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