Maintainer Summit Speaker Guide

Thank you for speaking at the CNCF Maintainer Summit at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2025, taking place Sunday, November 9. This event is happening in person at Georgia World Congress Center, Building B in Atlanta, Georgia.

Please bookmark this page for easy reference and continue to check back as the event gets closer as we will be adding additional speaker information as it becomes available. If you have any questions, please email us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Timing of sessions and room locations are subject to change.

• Schedule Announcement: Wednesday, August 27
• Speaker Registration Deadline: Monday, September 8 
• Additional AV Requests Due: Thursday, October 9 
• Presentation Slides Upload Deadline: Thursday, November 6 

Please review the sections below to find more information about the above dates and deadlines.

Registration

Separate tickets for Maintainer Summit and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America are required to attend. To confirm your participation and secure your speaking slot, it’s important to complete both registrations by Monday, September 8, using the details you received in your notification email. If you require this information again, please reach out to us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org. Be sure to submit any accommodation needs when registering. Failure to register by the deadline may result in your slot being given to someone on our waitlist.

All speakers receive complimentary registration and any co-speakers or panelists can register using the same details provided to you.

Important Notes:

• Project Meeting submitters/meeting facilitators will not receive a speaker registration pass.
• If you have already registered for the event and are now a speaker listed on the schedule, please reach out to our registration team to be issued a refund.
• Speaker registration vouchers are nontransferrable.

Visa Letter Requests

If you require a visa letter, please register for the event, and then complete the visa letter request form.

Venue

This year’s event will take place at Georgia World Congress Center, Building B, located at 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30313.

Hotel Details

We have several discounted room blocks that we invite you to view on our Venue + Travel page. Please note, rooms will most likely sell out in advance of the room block close dates listed below. We encourage you to book early to secure a room at the conference rate.

The schedule will be announced on Wednesday, August 27, and will be posted on our website using Sched.com.

IMPORTANT: Please note the following durations for session formats:

• Presentation: 35 minutes, 1-2 speakers presenting on a topic
• Panel Discussion: 35 minutes of discussion amongst 3 to 5 speakers
• Workshops: Between 35 – 55 minutes (please check the schedule for your allotted time)
• Project Meetings: Between 25 – 55 minutes (please check the schedule for your allotted time)

If you have a conflict with the timing of your talk, find that it conflicts with the content of another talk, or are having problems uploading your bio and photo, please contact us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.

Please note the following technical requirements:

• All speakers must supply their own computers and HDMI adapters to use during their talk.
• Presentation slides should be formatted in 16:9. 
• Conference wifi will be available in all breakout rooms. If you’re planning on doing a demo, we strongly recommend pre-recording it as a best practice. Be sure to have a copy on your local drive.
• The room will include a screen, projector, and (1) microphone for each speaker or shared microphones for panelists.
• Presentations will be recorded.

Project Meetings

• The rooms will not include any AV equipment and sessions will not be recorded.
• Speakers should be prepared to use the space for collaborative discussions, not presentations.
• (1) Whiteboard and markers will be available

If you require any additional AV or have any questions, please email us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org by Thursday, October 9. Our team will make every effort to accommodate additional AV needs; however, final approval for additional AV requests will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Presentation Details

All speakers presenting slides are encouraged to submit a PDF-format version of their final presentation ahead of the event to Sched.com. We find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session. The deadline for presentations is Thursday, November 6.

To upload slides:

• Log in to your speaker profile through Sched.com or via the mobile site
• On the top of the page click “Manage and Promote Your Session”
• Click “Add Presentation”
• Click in the “Select a File” box and add the PDF document (note: there is a 50MB size limit)
• Click “Upload” and your slides will automatically be saved

Branded Powerpoint

An optional PowerPoint template is available to download. Use of the template is not required, but we do welcome you to use it for your convenience.

We encourage you to promote your participation in the CNCF Maintainer Summit. Please utilize the marketing kit which includes graphics and sample social media text. 

Please read and abide by our Code of Conduct, which is strictly enforced. We ask that speakers especially review and are careful to be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentation.

If you have any other venue, speaker, or schedule-related questions, please contact us at projectsatkubecon@linuxfoundation.org.