PCMA announced the destinations hosting its annual 2019 and 2020 Convening Leaders event. Convening Leaders, held each January, is marketed as “the definitive event for the business events industry” and continues to grow in attendance. More than 4,200 professionals participate in three days of educational collaboration and orchestrated networking. The event has grown more than 30% in the last nine years, according to PCMA.
In 2019 PCMA will host Convening Leaders in Pittsburgh, known as the “City of Bridges,” located at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela and recognized for its 400+ bridges and breathtaking vistas. The destination once known as “The Steel City” has transformed into a technology lightning rod with companies such as Google, Apple, Bosch, Facebook, Uber, Nokia, Autodesk and IBM among the 1,600 technology firms generating $20.7 billion in annual payrolls and generous local intellectual capital.
Located in Downtown Pittsburgh, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center—host venue for Convening Leaders—blends space, functionality, and flexibility with cutting-edge technology. Pittsburgh is home to 68 colleges and universities, including research and development leaders Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. PCMA will tap into these cerebral resources to bring risks, new ideas and innovation to Convening Leaders’ content—and there may even be a chance to ride a driverless Uber.
“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 … We look forward to welcoming the meetings and convention leaders from around the world to Pittsburgh.”
In 2020, San Francisco will host PCMA’s Convening Leaders annual event. A mosaic of colorful, distinctive neighborhoods, San Francisco is a city of life-changing technology, trendsetting cuisine and famous postcard views. Within this seven-by-seven-mile metropolis attendees will discover ethnic enclaves such as the Mission District and the leafy glades of the Presidio and Golden Gate Park.
San Francisco is a renowned magnet for meetings of all sizes, from self-contained meetings based at one hotel to citywides utilizing multiple properties and the Moscone Center. Just blocks from Union Square, San Francisco’s Moscone Center is about as central as it gets. It’s walking distance to hotels, restaurants, museums, attractions, public transit and more. In 2020 the center will showcase their recent expansion of more than 170,000 gross square feet of meeting space, including the addition of a 50,000-square-foot ballroom.
“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 [several] new hotels.”
Convening Leaders 2018 will be held in Nashville, Tenn., at the acclaimed Music City Center. Registration for the event opens this year in late August. For more information, please visit conveningleaders.org.
