On September 15 at City Winery in New York City, the Skift Meetings Forum 2025 delivers an agenda designed to keep senior planners two steps ahead.
Forget filler because every session is a direct hit on the issues shaping the next era of event strategy. Discussions on AI, ROI, geopolitics, and sponsorships provide frameworks that you can immediately put to use.
Here’s what to expect from a day packed with unfiltered insights and big-picture conversations:
Morning Sessions: Setting the Stage
8:30 am – Breakfast & Registration
Start your day with fresh coffee, tasty delicacies, and new introductions. This is where you’ll first meet fellow decision-makers who share your challenges and ambitions.
9:30 am – Welcome to Skift Meetings Forum
Miguel Neves, Editor-in-Chief of Skift Meetings, kicks things off with a challenge: Think bigger about what events can do in the world of business, culture, and community.
9:40 am – Weaving Commerce and Creativity Into an Iconic Experience
Anick Beaulieu, CEO of C2, joins Neves to explore how groundbreaking events blend business objectives with artistic vision. Expect examples of how design thinking, storytelling, and innovation combine to make events unforgettable. Moderated by Miguel Neves.
10:00 am – The City as Venue: Lessons from Austin and SXSW
Tiffany Kerr, SVP & CMO of Visit Austin, and Michele Flores, Chief Logistics Officer of SXSW, illustrate how cities themselves can become immersive venues. Moderated by SkiftX’s Alison McCarthy, this session shows you how destinations transform into canvases for global-scale experiences.
10:15 am – Corporate America: Dealing With Uncertainty
Forrester’s Tavar James and Prudential Financial’s Barbara Rohloff discuss how corporate planners address unpredictability in budgets, travel policies, and attendee behavior. Moderated by Skift Editor Barbara Scofidio, this conversation helps you prepare for volatility in your own programs.
10:40 am – Networking Break
Use this time to swap strategies, compare notes, and connect with peers who understand the pressures of running large-scale events.
11:10 am – Delivering Event Activations That Elevate Brands
Brendan Brown, Global Head of Strategy & Planning at George P. Johnson, outlines how top brands are moving beyond standard sponsorship packages to create activations that deliver measurable value. Moderated by Barbara Scofidio, this session gives you new playbook ideas to bring home to your partners.
11:35 am – Navigating Geopolitics: Association Leaders Steering Through Unprecedented Times
Carine Desroches (National Kidney Foundation), Marilyn Jackson (American Alliance of Museums), and Jeanine Kelly (ICSC) share candid insights into how global politics, from visa regulations to conflicts, shape event feasibility. Moderated by Andrea Doyle, Executive Editor at Skift Meetings, this is where you’ll hear strategies that safeguard international programs.
12:05 pm – How Unexpected Moments and Places Elevate Attendee Experience
Alice Harrington-Caravello, Managing VP at Marriott International, explains how surprise touchpoints and unconventional venues can heighten attendee engagement. Moderated by Kate Anderson of Skift, this session helps you rethink experience design for maximum impact.
Judy Lee (Pinterest), Jessica Charles (Forbes), and Monique Ruff-Bell (TED) share how event leaders move beyond logistics into cultural influence and community. Moderated by Ruff-Bell, this is where you’ll learn how to lead with vision, not just execution.
12:50 pm – Networking Lunch & Roundtables
Over lunch, you’ll join roundtable discussions that align with the industry trends and themes. It’s your chance to go deeper, challenge ideas, and leave with frameworks you can immediately apply to your own events.
Confirmed Roundtable Topics with leaders:
- Life-First Strategies to Avoid Burnout and Thrive in Events – Juliet Tripp, The Events Coach
- Registration with Purpose – LeanneVelky, Event Registration Specialist, Leanne Velky, Inc.
- Can “Wellness” Really Impact Event ROI – David T. Stevens, Co-Founder, Olympian Meeting
- Designing Purpose-Driven Events with Sustainability and Legacy – Alessandro Teichner, Founder & CEO, COLORS for GOOD
- Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners – Huong Nguyen, CEO, Shiloh Events
Afternoon: AI, Talent, and Mega-Events
1:50 pm – How AI Is Shaping Tomorrow’s Live Experiences
Colja Dams, CEO of VOK DAMS Agency, highlights how AI is changing production, personalization, and event creativity. This is your opportunity to see where technology and human insight meet.
2:05 pm – Blending Human Insight With AI for Strategic Gains
Matt Parlier (American City Business Journals) joins Colja Dams in a conversation moderated by Miguel Neves. Together they show you how to balance AI tools with the creative judgment only humans provide.
2:25 pm – Session TBA
Stay tuned. This slot is reserved for a surprise announcement.
2:40 pm – Cultivating Diverse Talent to Shape the Future of Cities
Martha J. Sheridan (Meet Boston) and Al Hutchinson (Visit Baltimore) explore how diversity in talent pipelines shapes both events and destinations. Moderated by Andrea Doyle, this conversation helps you reimagine inclusivity as an engine for growth.
3:05 pm – Inside the Mega-Event Machine: How Cities Host the World
Bruce Revman (FIFA World Cup 2026 NYNJ Host Committee) and Chris O’Brien (Sail4th 250) reveal the behind-the-scenes complexity of global-scale events. Moderated by Skift Founder & CEO Rafat Ali, this session equips you with insights to handle scale, politics, and spectacle.
3:30 pm – Networking Break
Step back and digest the AI and mega-event sessions while making meaningful new contacts. You’ll find this is when the best side conversations spark future partnerships.
Late Afternoon: Ownership, Listening, and Final Insights
4:00 pm – Building Bold Events From the Ground Up
Cassandra Farrington (MJBizCon) and Robyn Duda (RacquetX) discuss launching and growing event properties in competitive markets. Moderated by Andrea Doyle, this session gives you insider lessons on scaling events into industry powerhouses.
4:25 pm – Mastering the Exit Strategy: Insights on Selling Event Businesses
Howard Givner of Heathcote Advisory Group breaks down the process of selling event companies. Moderated by Miguel Neves, this conversation helps you understand growth, succession, and long-term value.
4:40 pm – The Power of Listening
IMEX’s Tahira Endean reframes listening as a leadership tool. Moderated by Miguel Neves, this session will remind you how intentional listening sharpens your leadership style.
4:55 pm – Reflections and Signals: Keynote Listeners Respond
In the debut of the Keynote Listener Program, industry leaders, including Amy Calvert (Events Industry Council), Martin Boyle (IAPCO), and Liz Lathan (Club Ichi), synthesize the most powerful insights of the day. Moderated by Miguel Neves, this session gives you a distilled playbook of the Forum’s takeaways.
Miguel Neves wraps the day with a look at what lies ahead for event leaders like you.
5:30 pm – Networking Reception
End the day with wine, lively conversation, and a roomful of industry peers. This is where you can cement new relationships, exchange ideas, and start building the partnerships that will carry into 2026.
Why You Should Attend
The audience itself is a reason to attend. Expect directors, VPs, agency leaders, and heads of experiential engagement, most with 15+ years of leadership experience.
Add to that City Winery’s intimate venue and the Skift Meetings editorial lens. Pair that with curated networking breaks that push you to engage in the right conversations, and you’ll leave with strategies, contacts, and ideas worth far more than a single day in New York.
Limited Seats. Maximum Strategy.
Skift Meetings Forum 2025 is almost sold out. If you want the agenda highlights to drive your 2026 planning, now’s the time.
