What can you cut without the attendee noticing? Where is it still safe to send business when the rules shift by location? How can you prove your event’s value to your CEO? Those aren’t easy questions to answer. However, at Skift Meetings Forum, you’ll get a chance to connect with the senior-level planners who are tackling the same issues. You’ll head home with a clear understanding of how to navigate an increasingly complex environment while designing experiences that deliver real business outcomes.
If you’re still sitting on the fence, here’s a look at what to expect from the day so you can come prepared to maximize your time.
Act I: Redrawing the Global Map and Reevaluating Attendee Expectations
Act I maps the ground moving under your next 12 months. Lance Fensterman and FIFA World Cup 26’s Bettina Garibaldi break down what mega-events know about building must-attend energy you can steal at 200 people. Skift Research’s Lindsey Roeschke runs the generational recalibration: what has to change before Gen Z becomes the majority of your audience? And no matter who’s coming to your meeting, you need to think about where you’ll be comfortable hosting them. INFORMS’ Kyle Jordan and Rotary’s Shannon Watson read the visa friction and destination risk impacting programs over the next decade.
Act II: Doing More With Less – And Dealing With Dangerous Scammers
Act II looks at the main challenge many planners are facing: Do more and do it faster – with the same budget and the same number of team members. MathWorks’ Sarah Gannon, FM’s Betsy Gonzalez Cordis’ Monique Rochard-Marine get specific in “Stretched Thin” about where planners find cuts attendees never notice and how teams avoid burning out in the squeeze. Then, comes the harder threat: AI-enabled fraud. Cloned booking sites and forged invoices are faster to produce than ever. As meeting planners rush to meet shorter lead times, scammers are preying on that sense of urgency.
Act III: Leveraging AI – And Learning to Lead the Company, Not Just the Event
In “The AI Scorecard,” three practitioners grade six real tools and workflows live, covering what works, what’s improving, and what they’ve dropped. Then, the stakes turn personal. Time’s Dan Macsai traces the move from owning execution to owning strategy, the jump from running events to running the company. This is the line between the planners who move up and the ones who stay stuck running logistics.
Register Before the Room Fills
Complimentary passes are limited to qualified senior planners, and the calendar between now and September 22 is limited, too. Register now for a conversation that will continue to pay dividends long after you return to the office.
Also Read: A Sneak Peek at the Leaders Attending Skift Meetings Forum 2026
