When people told me how incredible of a conference PCMA Convening Leaders 2025 is, I believed them of course – but I didn’t know it was going to be THAT incredible.
To be able to attend and contribute to the experience of other event attendees was an incredibly rewarding experience for me – one that I’ll cherish for a long time.
Of course, this wouldn’t have been made possible without the honour of being named one of PCMA’s “20 in Their Twenties” class of 2025.
When I was selected for the class, I couldn’t help but feel a touch of imposter syndrome (more on that later!) being amongst some of the brightest and boldest in the industry.
In this post, I’ll take you through some of my personal highlights from an unforgettable week at PCMA Convening Leaders 2025.
Starting with PCMA U
Before the conference officially began, I had the privilege of serving as a mentor and panellist at PCMA U.
At PCMA U, we sat on tables with students attending the conference, providing mentorship on refining LinkedIn profiles and sharing stories about our pathways in to the industry. It was incredible to see the energy and ambition of the students attending!
As a panellist, I discussed my slightly non-standard pathway into the industry, shared advice on how to deal with imposter syndrome in your career, and finally advice that I would give to the student version of myself (spoiler alert, it was “don’t worry – you’ve got this!”).
After this session, a really special thing for me was having students attending the panel approach me throughout the conference telling me how much they enjoyed what I discussed in the panel and how much they appreciated my honesty and transparency.
I’m fairly new to public speaking, so this was really special to me and made all of the preparation and pre-talk anxiety worth it.
Mingle, mingle, mingle
I was fortunate enough to get a nice, long sleep the night before – my top tip for any event you attend this year!
This was important because it turned out my social battery was going to be put to the test. A first timers’ reception, followed by the 20 in Their Twenties reception, and finally the EMEA reception lead to a lot of new connections made and quality time spent with my fellow 20 in Their Twenties classmates.
Another Prosecco, anyone?
Opening Night Reception PCMA Convening Leaders
The opening night reception is when it really sunk in how big of a production Convening Leaders is.
A live band, firework show and drone display, alongside craft stalls where you could make your own jewellery and design your own cowboy hat – wow.
The night was spent with more time networking, dancing, and even a bit of line dancing. There is video evidence somewhere of me attempting it, but thankfully it’s not made it’s way on to socials just yet!
Finding your event tech Soulmate
For my second panel of the conference, I headed onstage representing CrowdComms alongside Bob (SwapCard), Rodney (RainFocus) and Sandy (Cvent) with moderator Greg (Destinations International) in the “Finding your event tech soulmate” talk.
In this fun take on “The Dating Game”, we took turns in answering RFP-style questions from our moderator on why our event app should be the one to choose for your next event.
A lot of fun was had, and we kept the audience engaged with everyone providing witty answers sprinkled with the occasional innuendo but backed up with solid reasoning on why our event apps were the go-to choices in the industry.
Mainstage Recognition and my fellow 20 in Their Twenties
The big moment.
Me and my fellow 20 in Their Twenties class got up on the main stage for our official recognition.
It was an honour to be recognised amongst such incredibly talented events professionals, that I’ll be forever grateful that I had the chance to get to know and ultimately become good friends with.
Making the most out of the States
This was my second trip to the US, and like the first time, I made sure to go and watch a local sports game whilst I was there.
This time, it was watching the Houston Rockets in an intense game of basketball that led to them narrowly snatching the win. The game was conveniently located at the Toyota arena, which happened to be just across the road from our hotel! This meant we could slip away after the main events of day 2 and make it back in time for the exciting “Party with a purpose” event to wrap up the day!
Stand Out Sessions
For me, the most impactful sessions were from Amal Clooney, who shared stories about her career as a human rights lawyer, as well as Scott Galloway reflecting on his predictions for the global stage from last year and setting new predictions for the year to come.
On top of this, there was an abundance of thought-invoking sessions spread across the entire week from some truly inspiring people – far too many to be able to summarise them effectively here!
The Grand Finale
I couldn’t write this blog post without mentioning the big finale from PCMA.
The attendees of Convening Leaders 2025 were treated to a private performance in a baseball ground from the one and only Gwen Stefani.
Personal Growth
Attending Convening Leaders was special to me in many ways.
Starting off with it being an event that I was heading to completely solo. I’m usually heading off to new locations with others, but I did like the freedom that came with travelling solo! It gave me the complete flexibility to do whatever I wanted. Need a mid-day nap? No problem. Session that nobody else wants to go to? I’ll be there.
This conference also helped me develop skills that I have been striving to refine this year as well. Public speaking is relatively new to me, and I was extremely fortunate to be able to be a panellist on not 1, but 2 sessions. It really cemented in for me that it’s an activity I want to pursue. Now that I’ve racked up a few years as a professional, I want to share my experiences to help the next generation of professionals in the industry.
Wrapping Up
All in all, I can say that attending Convening leaders as a member of the 20 in Their Twenties was a fantastic experience – one that I’ll never forget. It was an honour to be adorned with this prestigious award, but what made the experience truly special was how well I bonded with my fellow classmates. The community at PCMA is one of the most welcoming that I’ve ever experienced, and it’s made me want to give back to PCMA and the wider events industry in every way that I can.
Thank you for reading my summary of PCMA Convening Leaders 2025 – if you’re passionate about shaping the future of events, let’s get in touch.
I’d love to hear what you think about current solutions and how we can provide the best possible experience to event attendees!
