Employees of Spotify, Google and LinkedIn flock to Madison for CultureCon 2024

When Madison natives Zach Blumenfeld and Nick Lombardino founded the first CultureCon in 2018, they expected 50 attendees — and 100 showed up. Now, this conference dedicated to improving workplace culture attracts 600 employees from nearly all 50 states and eight countries. On Aug. 28 and 29, they will gather in downtown Madison for CultureCon 2024.

The conference features dozens of speakers and workshops centered on actionable strategies to create more engaging and inclusive working environments. Aside from the scheduled presentations and networking, Blumenfeld and Lombardino say the attendees have a lot to learn from the city itself. To them, Madison has always been a beacon of community where they feel accepted being their “full, authentic, goofy selves.”

“Madison thrives as a community and as a business ecosystem because groundbreaking ideas need a supportive environment. And that’s exactly what we want for our workplaces,” Lombardino says.

As a new generation enters jobs reshaped by the pandemic, Blumenfeld says there’s a heightened interest in discussing workplace culture. Unlike other conferences of this kind, CultureCon intentionally caters to individuals from all workplace departments, not just human resources. Everyone is welcome: from CEOs to frontline workers and interns.

“It fills this gap of bringing people together who are passionate about the people they work with, and they want to make work and life more meaningful and fulfilling and fun,” Blumenfeld says.

CultureCon recently became one of Wisconsin’s only 26 Certified B Corps, which are private companies recognized for their social good, transparency and accountability.

A second conference will take place in Las Vegas this November, and CultureCon will return to Madison in April for an inaugural EdGov Summit open to higher education and government employees.

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Zella Milfred is an editorial intern at Madison Magazine.

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