It’s a Wrap!

Here’s a look at what the Convene team saw, heard, and overheard this week in Philly. We’ve also included contributions from Convening Leaders participants who posted about the event on social media.

What was your favorite part of CL26? Don’t forget to fill out our post-event survey coming to your email later today.

Sunday

The 2026 class of PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties came together in person for the first time at a reception on Sunday afternoon. (All photos by Jacob Slaton / Whatever Media Group)

This year’s PCMA Foundation Do Good, Feel Good offsite project raised $10,000 for Pathways to Housing, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that aims to provide stable housing, supportive services, and a caring community to locals in need.

“I thought I needed to feel ready in order to act, but I needed to take the lead in order to feel that I was ready. And I think this has been a lesson at every point in my career where I hesitate to take a risk and go try something new or attempt to realize the potential that I failed to unlock.”
— Adam Grant, bestselling author and organizational psychologist, Main Stage keynote

Dancing with abandon at the Convening Leaders 2026 Opening Reception at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Overheard on the Convene Podcast

During Convening Leaders 2026, the Convene Podcast was recorded and broadcast from a mobile backstage unit (MO-B) provided by ADM Creative Group.

“I think ther’s a lot of misconceptions. A lot of them have to do with the confusion between live face characteristics and generational chacacteristics that we’ve been speaking about before. But maybe one we haven’t touched on upon is this idea that Gen Z craves flexibility and that we want to, well, just change jobs every six months if we can. If you read a lot of research, what you actually see is if you ask young people how long would you like to stay at an employer if they pay you enough to pay your rent and all the basics, the average is actually seven years.”
— Jahkini Bisselink, youth & foresight expert, Whetston Strategic Foresight

“Education to me is the biggest thing that we could do as an industry to make an impact, because there’s a lot of different tools out there, but how do you actually activate that? It takes understanding and education to figure that out.”
— Rachael Riggs, general manager of environmental strategy at Maritz

“I think one of the biggest areas that we need to understand or focus more on is how we innovate within sustainability.”
— Tanya Popeau, head of global sustainability at PCMA

“The Strategic Alliance of National Convention Bureaux of Europe now has 30 national CVBs collaborating across Europe. And you know, people ask, but are you not competitors? Yes, of course we are competitors, but sustainability is not a competition. It’s an obligation that we all have and everybody agrees on that.”
— Kit Lykketoft, director of convention at the Copenhagen Convention Bureau

Subscribe to the Convene podcast to hear full episodes.

Monday

Puppy yoga was an invigorating workout for humans and canines alike.

“Leaders don’t manage change, they manage mindsets.”
— Jay Kiew, change fluency expert and founding partner at CitizenCentric, Main Stage keynote

“AI wants to be fast before it wants to be excellent.”
— Nick Borelli, marketing director at Zenus and PCMA Institute instructor, “Two Truths and a Lie: AI and Data Privacy”

Attendees raise their glasses to celebrate the industry at the Mentoring Rings Meetup.

“[Working with venue partners on combating food waste] has to be an ecosystem-type of conversation.”
— Pete Pearson, vice president of Food, Food Loss, and Waste at the World Wildlife Fund, “D.R.E.A.M.: Data-Driven Actions for Reducing Food Waste in Events”

“It was as though your best friend — your best friend, and your much more powerful friend — had suddenly turned on you.”
— Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor in chief of The Economist, on the shift in the U.S. administration’s relationship with Europe, Main Stage keynote

PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE, onstage at Monday’s Main Stage afternoon session.

“It’s nice spending time with the future.”
— Doug Bennett, executive vice president of Louisville Tourism, commenting on his time sharing breakfast with the 2026 class of PCMA’s 20 in Their Twenties

Rocking out at the CL26 Party With a Purpose at The Fillmore.

Tuesday

CL participants get their sweat on at the Fitness With the Foundation – Elevate offsite.

“Take business out of [branding and marketing events], because there’s no business without people. We’re all human beings, so think about what you need today and go from there. People need to feel seen and heard, so put that into your business plan or your presentation. Being able to see people is the most important thing.”
— Tabitha Brown, bestelling author, podcaster, and branding expert, Main Stage keynote

“It’s not ‘meetings mean business’ — it’s conventions and tradeshows accelerate business.”
— Dave Lutz, managing director of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, “Convene Meeting Trends: What’s Changing — and What’s Possible”

Natalie Silverman, Leif Knudson, and Savannah Seda — all students at Rhode Island’s Johnson & Wales University — present their first-place Global Student Competition “Serendipity District” design.

“Whenever we are in a room, we are the smartest person in that room within our organization on how you leverage events to achieve business objectives, so be confident in leading that stakeholder group with your expertise. Don’t put yourself in a passive position of letting someone without the expertise make the decision.”
— Bill Reed, chief event strategy officer at the American Society of Hematology, “Volatility to Vision: Future-Proofing Your Event Strategy”

“Donating blood at the Blood Drive at #PCMACL #CL26. Giving back feels good, as long as you don’t mind needles! 😁😅”
— Craig Lehmann, North America regional director at ExpoPlatform, on LinkedIn

Thanks to near-continuous activations and education sessions, The District was booming this year.

“One of the best parts of this industry is watching the next generation come up. Ran into our former intern Tomell Harbison at #PCMACL and couldn’t be prouder.”
— Tiffany Hayes, DES, HMMC, project manager at ConferenceDirect, on LinkedIn

“When we design from the edges, we elevate the experience for everybody. The neuro-inclusion lens allows us to understand and identify the signals showing us where the greatest strain is taking place — whether that’s in the environment, with pace, or with decision fatigue, transition, sensory, you name it. So it’s a blueprint to help with designing what, ultimately, all human beings need.”
— Yush Sztalkoper, CMP, founder of NeuroSpark+, exclusive interview for the CL26 Digital Experience

Pitbull and DJ Jazzy Jeff performed at the CL26 Worldwide Wrap Party at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

“Together space is sacred space.”
— Alex Gallafent, executive director at IDEO, “Designing Events for a Complex World”

See you next year in Miami Beach for Convening Leaders 2027!