CultureCon West 2025 Recap: Top 5 Takeaways for Transforming Workplace Culture
- Nick Lombardino
- Nov 11
- 5 min read
Updated: 15 minutes ago
CultureCon West 2025 lit up Las Vegas from November 3 to 5 at Planet Hollywood, welcoming 460 total ticket holders for three unforgettable days of learning, laughter and connection. Marking another milestone for CultureCon®, this year’s event featured RecogNation as our Platinum Sponsor for the second time, with their President Andrew Bishop, a CultureCon audience favorite, headlining as one of our keynote speakers.
As a Certified B Corporation, CultureCon continues to strive towards social and environmental responsibility. This year, we took another meaningful step toward sustainability by partnering with fellow B Corp, TripZero. In addition to providing hotel rooms for our attendees, TripZero measured and offset the carbon footprint created by travel to Las Vegas by funding renewable energy, reforestation and methane reduction projects that reduce carbon pollution and benefit local communities. Onsite, we focused on lowering our impact with fewer single use plastics, compostable cups, water refill stations, plant forward meals and FSC certified print materials.
From inspiring sessions and creative activations to thousands of new connections made across the conference, CultureCon West 2025 proved that the power of culture continues to thrive wherever people come together with purpose.
After reviewing attendee feedback and speaker ratings, here are the CultureCon West 2025 takeaways:
1. Helping the Helpers: Sustaining the People Who Drive Change
In “Helping the Helpers,” Sam Simmons, Chief People and Internal Operations Officer at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), invited attendees to reflect on how those who care for others can also care for themselves. Drawing from her experience leading people and culture initiatives across organizations like HubSpot, Wayfair and Spurs Sports & Entertainment, Sam explored the balance between serving others and sustaining personal well-being. She emphasized that professionals in HR, leadership and organizational culture roles often carry the weight of transformation without prioritizing their own growth. The session encouraged attendees to establish healthy guardrails, foster supportive environments and reconnect with their purpose as helpers.
Key takeaway: Sustainable cultural transformation begins with helping the helpers. When people practitioners care for themselves and each other, they create the energy, clarity and resilience needed to drive meaningful change.
2. Scaling Culture Across Distributed Teams
In “Scaling Culture Across Distributed Teams,” Fullscript’s Chief People Officer Dennis Richter shared how organizations can grow without losing the essence of their culture. With more teams working remotely or in hybrid models, Dennis emphasized that preserving connection, values and rituals requires deliberate effort at every level. He offered strategies for translating in-office traditions into meaningful virtual experiences, reinforcing that culture is not the sole responsibility of leadership but a shared accountability across all roles. The session encouraged attendees to view culture as a growth lever, something that, when nurtured intentionally, strengthens engagement, performance and belonging no matter where employees work.
Key takeaway: Scaling culture starts with intention. By designing consistent rituals, transparent communication and shared accountability, organizations can keep their culture strong as they grow and evolve across locations.
3. Winning Workplace Culture with a Customer Centric Approach
In “Winning Workplace Culture with a Customer Centric Approach,” DraftKings’ Chief People Officer Linda Bukata Aiello revealed how employee engagement and customer engagement are deeply interconnected. She shared how DraftKings fosters an internal culture that mirrors the same energy, creativity and empathy it strives to deliver to its players. By putting the customer at the center of everything employees do, the company builds an environment rooted in shared purpose and accountability. Linda showed how this customer first philosophy not only drives brand loyalty but also cultivates an empowered, values driven workplace where employees understand their direct role in the company’s success.
Key takeaway: When organizations align internal culture with external customer experience, they create a unified sense of mission that fuels engagement, empathy and long-term performance.
4. Be Yourself at Work: The New Rules of Leadership, Belonging and Brave Culture Change
In “Be Yourself at Work: The New Rules of Leadership, Belonging and Brave Culture Change,” Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX, offered a powerful reminder that professionalism without humanity is no longer sustainable. Drawing from her experience scaling VaynerX from 400 to over 2,000 employees, Claude explored how empathy, vulnerability and emotional intelligence are not soft skills, they are essential cultural drivers. She encouraged leaders to replace outdated notions of fitting in with practices that prioritize authenticity and belonging. Through her heart first approach, attendees learned how emotional bravery can unlock trust, innovation and lasting engagement across organizations.
Key takeaway: When leaders show up authentically and lead with heart, they create workplaces where people feel safe to be themselves, brave enough to grow and inspired to do their best work.
5. Culture in Action: Leading Through Values
In “Culture in Action: Leading Through Values,” Vic Smith, Culture Strategist at joyful, reminded attendees that culture is not what is written on the wall, it is what leaders do when no one is watching. Through an energetic and immersive skill lab, Vic guided participants to examine how leadership behaviors either build or break trust in real time. She emphasized that culture is defined by action, not intention, and that the smallest choices ripple outward to shape the organization’s identity. With practical tools for identifying personal leadership values and embedding them into everyday decisions, attendees left the session with a renewed sense of accountability and conviction.
Key takeaway: Culture lives in the actions of leaders. When values are lived, not just spoken, they become the driving force that sustains trust, engagement and long-term success.
Bonus Takeaway: Purposeful Fun, Lasting Impact
CultureCon West 2025 wasn’t just about ideas, it was about action and connection. This year, attendees broke a new record, logging 2,891 Covve badge scans that generated more than $5,000 in donations to our nonprofit partners. That spirit of purpose came to life on stage in “Purposeful Fun, Lasting Culture: Designing Engagement Programs with Intention,” led by Jamie Larsen, CEO of Generus, alongside Broadway’s Hamilton star Julius Thomas III.
Jamie and Julius invited the audience to experience the Generus model firsthand, blending energy, creativity and giving back in a way that made connection tangible. Through interactive games, storytelling and a surprise live performance of “My Shot,” participants collaborated to assemble jump ropes for the Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas.
The fun didn’t stop there. Mystery Trip took attendees on a surprise adventure through Las Vegas, creating shared memories that sparked laughter and new friendships. Meanwhile, Connection Crew by Covve, Robertson Marketing and RecogNation hosted The Longer Table dining experience led by Tim Jones, Executive Director at Longer Tables, where guests came together for an evening of meaningful conversation, shared purpose and community.
Key takeaway: Meaningful engagement happens when organizations pair fun with purpose. When employees connect through shared impact, they build stronger teams, stronger cultures and stronger communities.
Summary of CultureCon West 2025 Takeaways
CultureCon West 2025 captured the spirit of community, creativity and connection that defines every CultureCon event. From powerful keynotes and hands-on sessions to record-breaking moments of giving back, this year’s experience proved that the future of work is human. As we look ahead to another year of inspiration and innovation, one truth remains clear: when culture works, everything works.
About CultureCon®:
CultureCon®, a Certified B Corporation®, is on a mission to inspire positive change around organizational culture. Through large conferences, online courses, consulting services, and certification programs, we deliver experiences that provide practical tools and motivation for our customers to become cultural change agents within their organizations. Our customers include business owners, CxOs, HR leaders, senior management, individual contributors, and anyone who wants to build more uplifting, inspiring, and healthy workplaces.
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