At Record-Breaking CEMA Summit, Corporate Event Marketers Focus on Leadership, Measurement, and Impact

In addition to breaking attendance records, this year’s CEMA conference welcomed 383 first-time participants.

The CEMA Summit 2026 concluded this week in Toronto with record attendance, bringing together more than 850 corporate event marketers and industry professionals from 19 countries for three days of practitioner-led education, case studies, and peer-to-peer learning. The event marked the largest gathering in the organization’s 27-year history and the first time the Summit has been held in Toronto. The conference welcomed 383 first-time participants.

Event programming focused on three pillars: impact, influence, and intention. More than 40 practitioner-led education sessions complemented Main Stage conversations exploring leadership, artificial intelligence, audience engagement, measurement, and the evolving role of event strategists.

One theme surfaced repeatedly throughout the conference: the growing importance of leadership as event teams are asked to navigate increasing complexities impacting their events, demonstrate business impact in more robust ways, and, for many in attendance, guide strategy across global portfolios.

During a Main Stage panel featuring event leaders from global organizations, panelists discussed the realities of managing teams and events that span countries, cultures, and continents. Agility, strong governance, talent development, and clear decision-making frameworks emerged as essential skills for leaders operating in an increasingly complex environment.

Another notable Main Stage session offered a behind-the-scenes look at ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2026 conference, where event leaders candidly shared challenges they experienced and perhaps most importantly how they bounced back. The discussion emphasized the importance of continuous refinement, adaptability, and remaining open to changing course when ideas that look strong on paper prove less effective in practice.

The Summit also highlighted the growing influence of AI on event teams. While many sessions explored the technology’s ability to improve efficiency and eliminate repetitive tasks, speakers repeatedly emphasized that human judgment remains critical. Discussions focused on how AI can support decision-making and strategic work, while reinforcing the need for leaders to evaluate outputs critically and maintain a strong alignment of business objectives the events need to produce for their respective companies.

The event also served as a platform for introducing expanded member benefits as CEMA continues to grow globally. New initiatives include executive-focused programming, enhanced opportunities for global engagement, and the development of an events marketing ROI benchmarking model and toolkit designed to help practitioners better measure and communicate event value. The benchmarking initiative is expected to deliver initial findings in early 2027, followed by a supporting toolkit for members.

“The strength of the CEMA community has never been measured solely by attendance. It’s measured by the willingness of corporate event marketers to share their successes, challenges, and lessons learned,” said Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President & CEO, PCMA and CEMA. “As this community continues to expand globally, that spirit of collaboration becomes even more valuable, helping events strategists advance their organizations, develop their teams, and create meaningful impact through events.”

For Brian Mason, VP, Strategy and Operations at CEMA, preserving that collaborative culture remains a priority as the organization expands.

“The growth of CEMA Summit shows just how important event marketing has become, but for us, growth can’t come at the expense of what makes CEMA special,” said Brian Mason, VP, Strategy and Operations at CEMA. “As we continue to grow and bring more voices from around the world into the community, we want Summit to still feel like the place where event marketers can be open and honest, learn from each other, build real relationships, and have the conversations that move our industry forward.”

Looking ahead, organizers announced that the next CEMA Summit will take place in Denver, Colorado, July 25-27, 2027.

As the Summit closed, one takeaway appeared to resonate across sessions and conversations alike: regardless of company, industry, or geography, today’s event professionals face increasingly similar challenges around leadership, measurement, technology, and providing business impact for their participants, especially as the value of events accelerates in a time of growing distrust of technology and an emerging need to gather face to face.

Gabrielle Weiss is Convene‘s editor in chief.