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.

Cologne is a 2,000 year old city, located in the North-Rhine Westfalia federal state. With over one million inhabitants, it is the largest city in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area and the fourth largest in Germany, after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. It is a major center for insurance and media industries, hosting the headquarters of important companies such as Generali Deutschland, Gothaer, AXA Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Zurich Financial Services, RTL Television, Deutchlandradio and Brainpool TV. It also has significant strengths in transportation and automobile manufacturing, represented by multinational companies like Lufthansa, Ford Europe and Toyota Motorsport. Cologne is famous for its higher education institutions, most importantly the world-leading University of Cologne and the Technical University of Cologne. With over 30 museums and hundreds of galleries, including the Roman-Germanic Museum, the Ludwig Museum and the Schnütgen Museum, Cologne is also a major cultural hub. Some of the most renowned landmarks located here are the Cologne Cathedral (designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site), twelve Romanesque churches, the Cologne City Hall, and the various remains of medieval city gates. The city hosts numerous trade shows, such as Art Cologne, Gamescom, imm Cologne and the Photokina, held at the imposing Cologne Trade Fair.

Cologne as a Conference Destination

Cologne is a major hub for international conferences and conventions. Some of the most important ones include: the Imm Cologne Congress, a large event focused on a variety of topics such as e-commerce, international business models, virtual reality, customer service and social media marketing; the Future of Transportation World Conference, one of the most important conference and exhibition about new developments in the transport industry; the Digital Marketing Expo and Conference (DMEXCO), a conference about digital business and marketing with over 550 speakers from all around the world; and the EXEC Insurtech, an important venue for experts in insurance technology and innovation.

Cologne Food Options for Conference Delegates

There are many fantastic restaurants you could try during your conference in Cologne. Some of the best ones include: the Gaststätte Lommerzheim (Phone: +49 221 814392) and Bei Oma Kleinmann (Phone: +49 221 232346), two great restaurants where you can experience traditional German cuisine; Sushi deLux Köln (Phone: +49 221 94387010), a luxurious Japanese restaurant famous for its sushi; Zippiri (Phone: +49 221 92299584), an upscale Italian restaurant; Bulgogi Haus (Phone: +49 177 5147920), serving a large variety of delicious Korean dishes; and the Bangkok Thai Restaurant (Phone: +49 221 80162378), a cozy yet intricately decorated restaurant, offering an amazing selection of Thai dishes.

Cologne Attractions for Convention Attendees

There are a large number of highly rated tourist attractions you can visit after your conference in Cologne, including: the Gothic Cologne Cathedral, an imposing building with twin spires and a huge façade; Phantasialand, a popular theme-park offering rollercoaster rides, stage shows and various other entertainment possibilities; the Hohenzollern Bridge, a famous 409 meters bridge over the Rhine river, constructed in 1907; the Romano-Germanic Museum, a modern museum containing a large collection of ancient Roman artifacts, jewelry and mosaics; and the Cologne Zoological Garden, a large zoo with an elephant park, an aquarium, a rainforest house, and bird shows.

Conference Center Venues

Cologne, Germany has a large number of great conference centers and facilities, such as:

Congress-Centrum Ost Koelnmesse (Location: Deutz-Mülheimer Str.)
DMEXCO (Location: Koelnmesse GmbH, Messepl.)
Gürzenich Köln (Location: Martinstraße)
KölnKongress GmbH (Location: Messepl.)
Maritim Hotel Köln (Location: Heumarkt)
Wöllhaf (Location: Terminal 1, Ebene 3, Kennedystraße)