The Professional Convention Management Association annual Convening Leaders event will be hosted in Pittsburgh, PA. and San Francisco in 2019 and 2020 respectively, officials have announced. The event, held each January, is the is aimed at the business events industry this year had more than 4,200 professionals in attendance at the three-day event. According to officials, the event has grown more than 30% in the last nine years by making face-to-face business event innovation the cornerstone of the program.
Organization leaders say they chose Pittsburgh, in part, because it has become a technology lightening rod with companies such as Google, Apple, Bosch, Facebook, Uber, Nokia, Autodesk, and IBM among the 1,600 technology firms generating local intellectual capital. Moreover, Pittsburgh is home to 68 colleges and universities, including research and development leaders Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, and organizers say PCMA will tap into these resources to bring risks, new ideas and innovation to Convening Leaders’ content. In addition, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where the conference will take place, features the flexible space and modern technology planners need when assembling a consortium of managers for the convention industry.
“We are so excited to host the 2019 PCMA Convening Leaders Conference in Pittsburgh in 2019 that five minutes after the announcement the team started our planning,” said Craig Davis, president and CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH. “PCMA attendees who have never been to our great city or who haven’t been here a while will quickly find out why Pittsburgh is amongst the top travel destinations in the world, best food cities and cultural district in the U.S., and one of the friendliest cities. Although our historical roots are in steel, our never quit work ethic has transitioned our region to become a hot bed for education, medicine, technology, banking, energy and, of course, tourism. We look forward to welcoming the meetings and convention leaders from around the world to Pittsburgh.”
When the event moves to San Francisco in 2020, organizers say attendees can look forward a mosaic of colorful, distinctive neighborhoods, cutting-edge technology, trend-setting cuisine and famous postcard views. The conference will take place at the newly remodeled and expanded Moscone Center, situated a few blocks from San Francisco’s cultural core.
“There will be so much new to experience in 2020, we can’t wait to welcome Convening Leaders to San Francisco,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel. “The elegant design of the Moscone Center expansion and the Chase Center, home to the NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, will take people’s breath away. Attendees will see changes in the neighborhood including the new Central Subway, the Mexican Museum and the Salesforce Transit Center, and we’ll have new hotels, many with trendy rooftop venues.”
Deborah Sexton, PCMA president and CEO, calls Convening Leaders the premier industry event for leading business event professionals. “Our participants and partners attend this event every January to network with their colleagues from around the globe and seek out innovation for their upcoming programs. Both Pittsburgh and San Francisco are unique welcoming destinations with tremendous knowledge capital communities that will contribute valuable ideas and intuitive talents to our program.”
Convening Leaders 2018 will be held in Nashville, TN, at the acclaimed Music City Center. Registration for the event opens this year in late August at conveningleaders.org.
