Main Stage Keynotes
Wednesday & Thursday, June 11-12, 2025
Anaheim Convention Center (ACC North)
A PCBC hallmark, our keynote sessions feature engaging and thought-provoking speakers – legendary thinkers and doers in the fields of business, strategy, performance, entertainment, leadership and motivation. Meet Mike! Say hi to Sahar! More dynamic speakers to be announced for PCBC 2025—watch this space for updates!
Wednesday, June 11
Mike Cessario
Entertain or Die: Day Trading Attention for the 21st Century
Advertising is easy. Entertaining is hard. Mike Cessario is the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, a canned water company with a punk rock aura and the tagline “murder your thirst.” Passionate about health, fitness and sustainability, Cessario created Liquid Death with a vision of taking the healthiest thing you can drink, packaging it in infinitely recyclable tallboy cans, and competing with the fun marketing of unhealthy brands across energy drinks, beer, and junk food. At PCBC, he’ll share how Liquid Death achieves outsized returns with an entertainment-first mindset.
Thursday, June 12
Dr. Sahar Yousef
Tuning the Brain for Creativity and Innovation
At last year’s PCBC, cognitive neuroscientist Sahar Yousef rocked our minds—and tamed our phones—with her keynote on the science of optimizing productivity and performance. This year, back by popular demand, she’ll share all new research findings on creativity and innovation—and how to unlock them in yourself and your company. In addition to teaching MBA courses at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Dr. Yousef runs the Becoming Superhuman Lab, where she helps executive teams get their most important work done, in less time, with less stress.
Greatest Hits: Highlights of keynote speakers from past years
Kudzi Chikumbu (2023)
TikTok global head of creator marketing
Shawn Achor (2015, 2023)
Leading expert on happiness and success
Sekou Andrews (2019)
Two-time national poetry slam champion
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Chip Conley (2016)
Head of Global Hospitality, Airbnb
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Sheryl Connelly (2014)
Global Trends & Futuring, Ford Motor Company
Steven Kotler (2017)
Co-founder, Flow Genome Project
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Patrick Lencioni (2018)
Renowned bestselling author
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Alison Levine (2019)
First American Women's Everest Expedition Team Captain
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Matthew Luhn (2017, 2022)
One of the original story creators at Pixar
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Platon (2018)
Award-winning Photographer
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Joshua Cooper Ramo (2016)
Vice Chairman, Kissinger Associates
Benjamin Zander (2014)
Conductor, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra
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Jade Simmons (2022)
Rockstar Concert Pianist & Activational Speaker
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Simon Sinek (2015)
Bestselling author, leadership expert
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Adam Steltzner (2017)
Chief Engineer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Gary Vaynerchuk (2012, 2014)
Bestselling author, social media expert