Ron Kaufman is one of the world’s leading motivational keynote speakers on the topics of achieving service excellence, increasing customer satisfaction, retaining loyal customers, and building sustainable service cultures. Rated one of the “Top 25 Who’s Hot” speakers by Speaker magazine, Ron presents powerful insights and global best practices from working with clients in every industry and on every continent for more than thirty years. His energetic keynote speeches have inspired millions, frequently earning standing ovations from audiences of all ages. In 2018, GlobalGurus rated Ron the #1 customer service guru in the world. Ron travels worldwide to speak at company meetings, industry conferences, and association events throughout the year.

Ron is author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller, “Uplifting Service! The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues and Everyone Else You Meet” and 14 other books on service, business and inspiration. He is the founder of Uplifting Service, a global education and consulting company that enables leaders and organizations to build sustainable cultures that win the hearts and minds of customers, colleagues, and partners.

With a population of over 520,000, Antwerp is the most populous city in Belgium. Located on the river Scheldt and linked to the North Sea by an estuary, Antwerp is famous for its port – the second largest in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam) and the 17th largest in the world. Besides being a leading international center for shipping and transportation, Antwerp is also an important hub for petrochemical and electrical industries. Additionally, the city is renowned for its diamond trade, and is home to four diamond bourses, the Diamond Club of Antwerp, the Beurs voor Diamanthandel, the Vrije Diamanthandel, and the Antwerpsche Diamantkring. Some of Antwerp’s most famous landmarks include the Antwerp Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the world, opened in 1843, the Renaissance-style Antwerp City Hall, built in 1565, the Cathedral of Our Lady, constructed between the 14th and the 16th century and home to four extraordinary paintings by Rubens, and the Farmers’ Tower (Boerentoren), the oldest skyscraper in Europe. The city is also a major educational and cultural center, housing the University of Antwerp, one of Europe’s top universities, as well as several important museums, such as the Museum aan de Stroom, the Rubenshuis, the Red Star Line Museum, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Antwerp as a Conference Destination

Antwerp is a major center for international conferences and conventions. Some of the most important ones include: the Antwerp Digital Marketing Conference, a venue for national and international marketing professionals aiming to discuss the impact on digitalization on the marketing industry; the European Geospatial Business Summit, a major platform for European Geospatial industry; the Business Analysis and Beyond Conference, one of the largest business events in Belgium; the Fusion Marketing Experience, a conference focused on customer-centricity and customer experience optimization; Technorama, an international information technology conference with over 1,500 attendees; and INSPIRE, a conference about green economy and digital transformations.

Antwerp Food Options for Conference Delegates

There are many excellent restaurants you can choose from during your conference in Antwerp, including: De Pottekijker (Phone: +32 3 225 21 97), a great place to sample traditional Belgian cuisine; Fish a’gogo (Phone: +32 495 24 27 36), a cosy and casual restaurant with sensational seafood dishes; Sail & Anchor Antwerp (Phone: +32 3 430 40 04), serving a large variety of Modern British dishes; Zaowang (Phone: +32 3 290 55 29), one of the best sushi places in town; Bij Lam & Yin (Phone: +32 3 232 88 38), an extraordinary Mandarin restaurant; and Ristorante Bianconero (Phone: +32 3 237 03 16), a renowned Italian restaurant.

Antwerp Attractions for Convention Attendees

There are numerous highly rated tourist attractions you can visit after your conference in Antwerp, including: the Cathedral of Our Lady, an iconic church built in a Gothic style between the 14th and 16th century, famous for Rubens’ Baroque paintings; the Rubenshuis, a museum located in Rubens’ former mansion containing a large number of the artist’s paintings, sculptures and tapestries; the Museum aan de Stroom, a modern museum showcasing the city’s heritage; the Antwerp Zoo, one of the oldest zoos in the world, opened in 1843 and renowned for its daily penguin feeding and sea lion shows; and the Grote Markt, Antwerp’s main square, located in the Old Town.

Conference Center Venues

Antwerp, Belgium has a large number of great conference centers and facilities, such as:

Antwerp Expo (Location: Jan Van Rijswijcklaan)
Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp (Location: Koningin Astridplein)
Hilton Antwerp Old Town (Location: Groenplaats)
Kinepolis Antwerpen (Location: Groenendaallaan)
Leopold Hotel Antwerp (Location: Quinten Matsijslei)
Salons Magnus (Location: Prins Albertlei)