Each January, PCMA Convening Leaders gathers thousands of meeting professionals from around the world to huddle around strategic planning and kick off the events conference calendar for the year—hence the Super Bowl of meetings.
This year, the association went back to its roots 70 years ago in Philadelphia where a group of medical association planners gathered for what has now become known as Convening Leaders. A PCMA Museum in The District show floor at Pennsylvania Convention Center marked the growth, globalization, strategic shift and diversification of the organization while a ceremony on the main stage and at National Constitution Center recognized past board chairs with a Rocky statue for their service.
The milestone event coincided with the country’s 250th anniversary America250 playing out all along the Northeast corridor.
“We will never move forward if we forget our past,” said PCMA CEO and President Sherrif Karamat L. But the gathering was also focused on the road ahead for technology, international economics and social connection. A new integrated brand communicated through a simplified logo, dance and spoken word art signified a purpose-driven organization that will attract the next generation of event professionals.
The 20 under Twenty cohort joined sessions on AI for Event Marketers, conversation starter workshops on Developing High-Performance teams and Building Safe, Story-Rich Menus. The voices from the main stage offered something for planners at every level of their career.
Jay Kiew made the idea of driving disruption at the speed of change seem fun. Erin Stafford shared powerful personal stories to illustrate the best ways to burn bright, not out despite previously unthinkable challenges. Jahkini Bisselink broke down the Gen Z guide for leading with trust and empathy in an over-connected world.
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Author and professor Adam Grant put the exclamation mark on the importance of encouraging growth through smarter interactions. He cited research that shows those who experience mild imposter syndrome perform better. Flickers of doubt make people work harder and add more value.
Comedian, author and Microsoft Chief Questions Officer Trevor Noah encouraged a curiosity-driven approach to problem-solving in the age of AI with a focus on human connection.
On a serious note, The Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes offered up a global economic outlook for 2026. After explaining all the ways the post WWII order has ended, she encouraged optimism. “Despite the shift toward more transactional and power-based international relations, maintaining core values and principles remains crucial for long-term success and leadership,” she said.
From lifestyle influencer Tabitha Brown to rapper Pitbull who led the Worldwide Wrap party on the final night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, PCMA Convening Leaders gave meeting professionals permission to pursue what felt right for them.
Destination Updates
Convening Leaders is also where destinations share progress briefings. This year, the platform was a mobile backstage trailer from ADM Creative Group parked on The District show floor and broadcasting to a screen in a viewing area with headsets. The 60-ft. by 20-ft. space houses the production crew and “stage” area and can be ready to stream in under an hour.
The host city of Philadelphia is meeting central this year with more than 300 events planned for 2026 in addition to America250 celebrations and FIFA World Cup. A new alliance between Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau will make booking citywide events even easier. Since Convening Leaders was last in town 20 years ago, 60% more space has been added along with an executive suite level, sensory room and massive LED signage throughout the building.
Miami, which will host PCMA Convening Leaders Jan. 10-13, 2027, at Miami Beach Convention Center, shared that a new 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach headquarters hotel connected to the convention center will break ground with two floors of meeting space in late 2027.
In New Orleans, more than $1 billion in hotel renovations are in progress. That doesn’t include a new 250-room Fairmont New Orleans opening in June in the Central Business District and a major campus development happening at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center where 40 acres of undeveloped land is planned to transform into a new River District neighborhood of offices, housing, event and activation spaces and an anticipated 400-500 room hotel. Already in development is a 1,006-room property with 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting space across street from the convention center with groundbreaking slated for later this year.
A new “More Austin” campaign will focus on live music, local culinary scenes and neighborhood-specific experiences in the Music Capital of the World while Austin Convention Center is torn down and rebuilt from below ground up. When the new building is revealed in 2029, it will offer a 336,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 92,000 square-foot flex hall, and a 47,000 square-foot ballroom inspired by Texas dance halls along with a 30,000-square-foot open-air plaza and a dedicated shuttle drive that can be closed for street festivals.
Houston First Corporation, which hosted PCMA Convening Leaders 2025 at George R. Brown Convention Center, released details of a master plan to reconnect the city’s East End with downtown through a 700,000-square-foot convention center expansion that will provide access to Toyota Center via a new 100,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza.
New Discover Puerto Rico CEO Jorge L. Pérez announced that the destination had experienced its fifth consecutive year of tourism records, with Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) welcoming more than 6.8 million passenger arrivals in 2025, a 3% increase compared to 2024.
Orange County Convention Center officially broke ground on its Grand Concourse Expansion, a $560-million project that will bring new meeting space and another ballroom to the North-South Building. RFPs are already being accepted for groups wanting to use the space when it opens in 2029. This is in addition to renovations all over Orange County, including a 100,000-square-foot addition at Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin opening this year and $5.9 billion in modernization and expansion at Orlando International Airport (MCO).
