Convening Leaders 2026 Kicks Off -

The First Timers Experience was held on Sunday in the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s dramatic Grand Hall, which was created by renovating the historic Reading Terminal Trainshed. Photo by Jacob Slaton / Whatever Media Group

PCMA Convening Leaders 2026, taking place through Wednesday at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center, commenced yesterday with leading-edge education and networking programs. There’s a special sense of occasion at this year’s event, since 2026 marks 70 years since the original meeting that inspired the creation of PCMA — a gathering of health-care executives at a conference in 1956 — took place right here in the City of Brotherly Love. “As we return to our founding city, CL26 is both a celebration and a call to action to reshape what’s possible for the next generation of the global business events community,” said PCMA and CEMA President & CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE, in a press release ahead of the event.

This year’s education program has been curated to challenge assumptions, elevate skills, and arm event strategists for what comes next for our industry — whatever that might be. Participants can attend keynotes and hands-on sessions built around Convening Leaders’ three content pillars: unity, legacy, and momentum:

1. Legacy — Honoring history as a foundation for future innovation and purpose-driven progress

2. Momentum — Driving transformation in business events through innovation, strategy, and bold action.

3. Unity — Harnessing collective power, inclusive leadership, and shared vision to shape what’s next.

Organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant opened the Main Stage education program on Sunday night with “Hidden Potential: Unlocking Excellence in Yourself and Others.” In this session participants learned new strategies to build skills and systems to develop hidden potential in themelves, their teams, and their organizations.

First Timers Are Buzzing About…

Hundreds of participants are Convening Leaders newbies this year, so it’s no wonder that the First Timers Experience on Sunday at 3 p.m. was buzzing. Newcomers to the events industry gathered in the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s Grand Hall to make new connections. Attendees broke up into small groups to answer getting-to-know-you questions over light refreshments.

Simone Henderson, a student at Virginia State University who is studying hospitality and mass communications, decided to attend Convening Leaders this year because “as a student I think it’s great to network and meet people I wouldn’t meet otherwise. I had never been to Philadelphia before, so that was one more reason to stretch myself and get outside my comfort zone.”

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Networking was also top of mind for Alejandra Castro-Orejuela, a hospitality and computer-science student who serves as vice-president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events’s Georgia State University chapter. “IAEE was promoting Convening Leaders as a good networking opportunity, so I decided to come and see what it’s all about,” she told Convene at the reception.

Ariel Jones, senior director at TEAM, a full-service association management company, seized on Convening Leaders as the perfect opportunity to grow her business. “The associations I work with are doing more events, and so that’s why I want to connect with more professionals in the meetings space to get business done.”

Johnson & Wales hospitality student Charles Scholl also came to Philadelphia to network — and support his friends. Scholl’s fellow students Leif Knudson, Natalie Silverman, and Savannah Seda were the winning team of PCMA’s Global Student Competition to reimagine The District, a PCMA mainstay. (You can learn how Scholl’s classmates executed the behavior-led “Serendipity District” tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Hall D/E.) “Even though I had a general idea of what to expect, the wind blows in mysterious ways,” Scholl said at the reception. “Actually being here, the opportunities to connect are endless.”

Making History, Together

Last night’s Opening Reception at the Pennsylvania Convention Center set a festive mood for the next three days, and tonight’s Party With a Purpose at The Fillmore will raise money for the PCMA Foundation. Tomorrow evening, Pitbull and Philadelphia favorite DJ Jazzy Jeff will perform at the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the CL26 Worldwide Wrap Party.

Convening Leaders attendees had a chance to give back yesterday by joining a Do Good, Feel Good activity in partnership with Pathways to Housing, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that aims to provide stable housing, supportive services, and a caring community to locals in need. Today and tomorrow participants can contribute to an on-site Do Good, Feel Good project to benefit the American Cancer Society or Cradle to Crayons in The District (Hall D/E, Table 23) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center anytime from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The next three days will be a whirlwind but be sure to leave yourself time to check out the PCMA Museum in The District. This collection of memorabilia from the last eight decades illustrates how the business events industry evolved from an impromptu gathering of health-care executives to a global industry that shapes the way the world does business.

Kate Mulcrone is Convene’s digital managing editor.