Available to book
Ginger Hardage
Transform workplace culture with Ginger Hardage, speaker and organizational culture expert. Ginger works with leadership teams to build unstoppable cultures, enhance internal communications, and drive employee engagement, leveraging expertise from her 25-year Southwest Airlines legacy and global recognition.
Ginger Hardage retired as Senior Vice President of Culture and Communications at Southwest Airlines after 25 years. She led a team of 150 people responsible for building and sustaining the organization's culture and communications enterprise.
In 2017, she launched Unstoppable Cultures to help organizations create and sustain great cultures. Ginger was recognized as a global authority on organizational culture and played a vital role in nourishing Southwest's culture and communications function.
She received numerous honors throughout her career and currently serves as Global Chairman of the Board for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Ginger's speaking topics include debunking lies about organizational culture, creating and sustaining enduring greatness in organizations, building a brand from the inside out, and the power of purpose. She also shares insights on attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent.
Topics, sessions and talks
In this session, Ginger Hardage emphasizes that the key to successful branding lies in people. Drawing on her 25 years at Southwest Airlines, she explains how employee engagement is crucial for a brand's identity. Ginger illustrates that an organization's internal culture directly influences its external perception. Attendees will learn how to foster an "employee first" culture, ensuring employees feel engaged, empowered, and aligned with the company's purpose.
Ginger Hardage addresses common misconceptions about organizational culture, such as the belief that it cannot be changed or that empowering employees leads to a loss of control. She debunks these myths and presents the five lies that hinder cultural transformation. Attendees will learn how to intentionally create a thriving culture, enabling their organizations to become unstoppable. By understanding these truths, leaders can foster a more engaged and effective workplace.
Ginger Hardage highlights the shift in organizational success from mere profit generation to a deeper, purpose-driven approach. Unlike previous generations, today’s leaders recognize that aligning their organizations with a meaningful purpose engages employees and customers alike. Ginger will share insights from leading companies that effectively integrate purpose and values into every aspect of their operations, including hiring and performance management. Attendees will learn how to harness purpose to drive organizational success.
Ginger Hardage explores the concept of "Unstoppable Cultures," highlighting how every company possesses a unique culture that can either attract or repel talent. She emphasizes the importance of intentionality in nurturing a supportive environment and the power of storytelling. Attendees will discover the key characteristics of these thriving cultures and leave with practical, inspiring strategies to cultivate the ideal culture within their own organizations.
Ginger Hardage, former Chief Culture & Communications Officer at Southwest Airlines, highlights the importance of attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent for organizational success. With a remarkable 96% employee retention rate, Southwest has long been recognized as a leading employer. In her keynote, Ginger reveals the timeless strategies that have contributed to this success, alongside insights from other top companies, equipping attendees with actionable approaches to enhance their own organizational culture.
Book Ginger Hardage to gain actionable insights from a global authority who shaped Southwest Airlines’ renowned culture and now empowers organizations to achieve lasting greatness. Secure your event’s success by inviting a speaker who inspires teams to build purpose-driven, high-performing workplaces.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Ginger Hardage, email ginger.hardage@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Ginger's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Ginger Hardage structures her sessions around myth-busting frameworks drawn from her 25-year tenure at Southwest Airlines, presenting named constructs such as “the five lies” that obstruct cultural transformation. She grounds each framework in operational examples from her own leadership experience, showing how purpose and values were embedded into processes such as hiring and performance management.
Ginger Hardage speaks on building brands through internal culture, debunking misconceptions about organisational culture, and leading with purpose. She retired as Senior Vice President of Culture and Communications at Southwest Airlines after 25 years, where she led a team of 150 responsible for the organisation's culture and communications enterprise.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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