What do economic forecasts, vulnerable leadership, Asia trends, values-driven political actions and global social advocacy have in common? We asked PCMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat about the high-profile, diverse agenda at PCMA Convening Leaders for 4,000 meeting professionals in Houston this week.
“We deliberately chose a wide variety of speakers because we strongly believe that unless we hear different points of views, we will be trapped in our own little paradigms and that that could be very dangerous.”
How different? Professor and podcaster Scott Galloway predicted a nuclear and AI-powered future and entreated the audience to mentor young men looking for direction.
Author and TED Talk legend Brene Brown called on meeting strategists to stretch themselves. “It’s not supposed to be comfortable. It’s supposed to be meaningful and honest,” she said.
Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney said: “Some things have to matter. As people who bring people together, you play an important role. We need people to sit down and talk with each other. We need people who are serious, listen and act in a way that is respectful and substantive.”
Finally, human rights advocate Amal Clooney called on individuals to help move the ark of history toward justice in parenting, voting and work. “The enemy is not evil but apathy. We all have to play our roles.”
Karamat stressed that the goal wasn’t to have everyone agree with the points of view shared on the dynamic, circular stage at George R. Brown Convention Center, but to understand that people with divergent ideas are still trying to solve issues. “We need to find a bridge because we’re trying to get to the same place. We’re just looking through different lenses,” he said.
Learn More: Lessons from Leaders with Sherrif Karamat
Karamat continued, “Because we convene people, we have the power to use this platform that we call business events to impact economic and social change. We can make a difference.”
He believes that a lot of small ideas from ordinary people make big things happen if meeting professionals use the gift of influence they have.
Safety First
With an A-list like that, security continued to be a priority as it was when Bill and Hillary Clinton were guests at PCMA Convening Leaders 2024 in San Diego. The result on the first morning was a series of lines to check bags larger than allowed and again to go through checkpoints. But subsequent days were more manageable. “Safety is paramount,” Karamat said. “We have to keep our participants safe and they have to feel that they are safe.”
Read More: The Best of 2024 Event Security
To that point, New Orleans & Company CEO and President Walt Leger held a press conference to vow that the city will be stronger and more united in the face of the terrorist attack that happened on New Year’s Day in the French Quarter.
Karamat predicted that elevated levels of security will evolve to become more seamless and less of an encumbrance as airport security has improved since 2001.
An AI Spark
PCMA’s events industry-optimized AI tool, Spark was center stage in the Tech Lounge. More than 10,000 subscribers now use the product, which is designed to protect each customer’s data rather than sharing in a public pool. “This is a tool to make us more productive so we aren’t wasting time doing mundane tasks,” he said. “This will get event organizers off the hamster wheel.”
Read More: Chantal Sturk-Nadeau Takes Lead at Spark
Karamat also saw AI as a way to bring the world together. Spark can now instantly translate from and to 23 languages taking into account the nuances of phrasing that can make literal translations difficult. AI understands context. “Suddenly you’re reaching people who were ignored before in their native tongue and it is only going to grow,” he said.
Houston on Purpose
PCMA has been trying to bring the event to Houston since 2019, but unexpected challenges, including a global pandemic, required alternatives. The Houston convention center campus includes 1,200-guest-room Hilton Americas Houston and 1,000-room Marriott Marquis Houston with covered connections to more than 1 million-square-foot George R. Brown Convention Center. Toyota Center and Daikin Park, where Gwen Stefani headlined the closing reception, are in walking distance.
Read More: Destination Houston
“Everything is there. It’s easy to do business in the city. Flights, dining, Tex-Mex culture is all there,” Karamat said after sporting a large cowboy hat on stage. The location that is home to Space Center Houston also made for some fun marketing around “Going Beyond Your Orbit.”
He acknowledged that certain rules and regulations in the state may not be perceived as caring of all, but saw bringing an event as a vehicle for change. “My fervent belief in my heart is that we don’t break down barriers by avoiding each other. We need to sit down and talk to each other. I will not avoid difficult conversations,” he said.
Future Focused
Karamat also used the conference to introduce new branding after a couple of years of acquisitions, including CEMA and Event Leadership Institute. “We were a house of brands,” he said. “We needed to refresh our brand to showcase the new tomorrow,” he said of the circles in a circle punctuated by the tagline, “Leading minds; Leading change.”
In 2026, PCMA will celebrate Convening Leaders’ 70th anniversary in the city where the conference began, Philadelphia. At the same time, Visit Philly will be celebrating the country’s 250th birthday. Karamat plans to invite all living leaders from the association’s past and take things up a notch.
Read More: Top Reasons to Meet in Philadelphia
“We will continue to push the envelope when it comes to dialogue,” he said. “You might see us ratchet up even more because we believe it’s such a historic moment for our country and for our organization that it deserves some conversations that are going to push the edges of where our industry can grow.”
