Catersource + The Special Event Keynotes

Opening General Session

Rich Bracken

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2:30pm-3:30pm

Rich Bracken is an award-winning keynote speaker and executive coach who fuses captivating storytelling with emotional intelligence research to spark sustainable change. As Brand Ambassador for TalentSmartEQ—the leading EQ training firm worldwide—he brings exclusive, data driven EI strategies to his audiences.

Drawing from his past life as a national touring DJ, Rich's presentations are more than informative—they're performances. With energy, empathy, and humor, he helps leaders and teams develop emotional intelligence, executive presence, and motivation.

Rich has empowered professionals at Fortune 100 companies and global organizations, and his insights have reached national media and top executives. He’s also a trusted coach for executives and celebrities. Named a National Top Speaker by Smart Meetings, his keynotes leave audiences informed, inspired, and energized.

Emotional Intelligence: The Ultimate Success Factor

Rich Bracken delivers an electrifying keynote that's part presentation, part dance party—merging emotional intelligence research with his experience as a national touring DJ.

In this high-energy session, you'll discover why EQ outperforms IQ in predicting success while learning to identify when emotions are controlling your decisions.

Elite Experience

Experience highlights:

Live DJing combined with actionable EQ strategies
Interactive sing-along moments that reinforce key concepts
Practical techniques to transform vulnerability into strength

You'll leave knowing how to:

Apply the foundational elements of emotional intelligence for professional success
Retrain your emotional triggers like a DJ works a crowd
Identify emotions in real-time (something 72% of people struggle with)
Build positive EQ habits that enhance confidence and self-value

Closing Keynote

Closing General Session

Julius Solaris

Thursday, March 5, 9:00am - 10:00am

Julius Solaris is the founder of Boldpush. He works as a consultant with Fortune 500, technology and event companies on strategy.

He founded and sold two businesses EventMB (now Skift Meetings) and Showthemes, a tech company. 10 Million people read Julius' content in 2025, making him become a Top Voice on LinkedIn.

Julius was inducted into the Event Industry Council Hall of Leaders in 2024, the highest recognition given to event industry leaders. He's also in the 2025 Xlist top experience maker and has been named the most influential of the past 25 years by Bizbash.

He is the recipient of the first Outstanding Contribution Award in Event Technology.
Julius has conducted some of the most groundbreaking research for the event industry.

Over 300,000 event professionals have downloaded Julius' analysis and reports.
Julius has been a keynote for events in 18 countries and for over 250,000 attendees.

Registration is open! Early Bird ends November 21.