PCMA 2027 Convening Leaders 迈阿密大会将邀请美国前总统小布什登台对话

The Professional Convention Management Association announced in early October that its 2027 Convening Leaders event, set for Miami in January, will feature President George W. Bush and his daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush, in a conversation with veteran moderator Holly Ransom.

This will be the second time in four years that PCMA features a former U.S. President on its main stage. In January 2024 in San Diego, PCMA wowed more than 4,200 attendees when it announced on very short notice that both President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would come in person for a moderated 45-minute conversation with Ransom.

At CL 2027, President Bush will discuss his use of leadership principles in complex scenarios. His daughter Barbara will also provide perspective; she is the senior vice president of social impact and inclusion for the NBA. Before that role, Barbara was executive-in-residence at Schmidt Futures, where she led one of its biggest events: the International Strategy Forum.

Unlike the 2024 main-stage conversation with the Clintons, the 2027 session with George W. Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush is not open to registered media, nor will it be livestreamed or recorded. Attendees may take written notes.

First Time Was a Charm

At Convening Leaders 2024 in San Diego, the conversation with Bill and Hillary Clinton was captivating. 

Hillary recounted details of the May 2011 operation by U.S. military forces that located and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Hillary noted that “President Obama went around the table asked each of us our assessment of the situation. We did not have full agreement, and everyone was challenged before the President made his decision. It was exhausting for all of us, and it taught me a lot about the patience that’s needed for making important decisions: hearing each person out, asking for more information, re-evaluating everything as you go, and managing your energy and focus” to remain effective throughout the process.

[Related: What Makes a Keynote Speakers Successful? 3 Things]

Further, Bill chimed in with some advice of his own: The participants of a decision-making situation “have to respect each other, and not get irritated with those who disagree with them. Role-playing other people in the situation could help everyone better understand others’ perspectives without getting angry or finger-pointing or scapegoating.”

Another good insight Hillary gave to CL attendees: “You need your energy to be high when making important decisions. You have to know yourself.” Her advice: Set up your daily schedule to account for when you are best able to listen, absorb information, and ask questions, and also for when you are best able to reflect on all that information and come to a rational decision.

Even before that process begins, however, leaders must deliver to their teams a clear explanation of the various elements of a complicated issue. Clinton advised that leaders not assume their team’s baseline knowledge about a situation, or else misunderstandings can happen regarding what information is needed to make a sound decision.

Read More Speakers Articles From Meetings Today

About the author

Rob Carey serves as content manager, news and features for Meetings Today, where he leads coverage of the latest trends, issues, data and insights related to corporate meetings and incentives as well as association conventions and exhibitions.

Carey has been covering the business-events industry since 1992, when he was hired as an intern at Successful Meetings magazine in New York while still a student at Columbia University. During his 15 years at SM’s parent company Nielsen, Carey moved steadily through the ranks to become editorial director for Successful Meetings, Meeting News and the Meeting World conference and exhibition. SM and MN won several FOLIO: Eddie Awards for editorial coverage during his tenure.  

Carey then spent 11 years as principal of Meetings & Hospitality Insight, covering not just the MICE market for various industry publications but also writing about business disciplines such as hotel management, golf-facility management, small-business operations, middle-market leadership and others. And for several years he wrote the annual trends white paper for the International Association of Conference Centers.  

In 2018, Carey became a senior content producer for MeetingsNet, an Informa media brand, and a panel moderator for Informa’s Pharma Forum annual event. 

Come September 2025, he moved to Meetings Today.  

A native of New York,  Carey now resides in the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area with his wife Kelley and their dog Ziggy.