Garry Ridge
- World-Renowned Expert in Creating Top Organizational Culture
- Named Igniter of the Year by Simon Sinek (2016)
Garry Ridge Speaker Biography
Garry Ridge has 25 years of experience as Chairman and CEO of WD-40 Company. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, where he teaches the principles and practices of corporate culture in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership program.
Garry’s philosophy on company culture is based on Aristotle’s quote – “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” Turning that into action, he believes that all leaders can create a workplace where you go to work each day, make a contribution to something bigger than yourself, learn something new, feel safe, are protected, and are provided freedom by a set of values and go home happy!
He is passionate about the learning and empowering organizational culture he has helped establish at the WD-40 Company. In 2009, he co-authored a book with Ken Blanchard outlining his effective leadership techniques, titled “Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called ‘Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A.” A native of Australia, Mr. Ridge holds a certificate in Modern Retailing and a Master of Science in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego.
As part of Garry’s commitment to helping companies of all sizes duplicate his success via workplace culture transformation, he makes a limited number of days out of every year available for keynote speaking engagements. He wraps his inspiring personal stories of his work at WD-40 Company with universally applicable steps and programs that any leader of any company can adapt. Audiences most likely to benefit from his program are already engaged in human capital development and/or they lead organizations that are going through a period of significant change.
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Speech Topics
The Art of Building Engaged, World-Class Cultures: It’s All About the People
It’s often said, with nods of wise agreement, that any organization is nothing without its people. Over many decades, countless books and courses on leadership addressed this well-known and accepted axiom.
Then why are nearly 70% of all employees in the U.S. disengaged at work? Clearly, the conferences, books, courses, and motivational speakers are insufficient to make a difference.
This session by Garry Ridge, The Culture Coach and Chairman Emeritus WD-40 Company, will be a look “under the hood” of one of the world’s most recognized brands, where employee engagement is above 93%, 98% say they “love to work at WD-40 Company”, and 99% say that their “opinions and values are a good fit” for WD-40 Company.
Garry will share his “learning moments” over the course of his career efforts to transform company culture. Lessons and principles covered include:
Audience takeaways:
* The personal journey of every servant leader and why that philosophy is critical. The emotional connection of a greater purpose that creates high engagement. The role of a leader as a coach, not a manager
* How to carefully and consciously choose values that will be embedded in all aspects of leadership and employee development.
* Why investing in people who invest in themselves is a secret to succession planning and greater organizational capability.
* The difference between a “team” and a “tribe”
* How company performance results are directly connected to its focus on people
The Power of The Learning Moment Culture
“At WD-40 we do not make mistakes, either we win or we learn. We want to enhance learning moments.” This quote from Garry Ridge about the company he has been CEO of since 1997, WD-40 Company, perfectly summarizes the power of the Moment of Learning culture. In this keynote speech Garry will teach the audience the benefits that this culture brings to companies that implement it. Audiences will also walk away with a deeper understanding about the best ways to apply this culture in the company so that workers follow it and are aware of its benefits while increasing their commitment and engagement.
The 10 Traits of Leadership
Chosen in 2017 as one of the Top 10 Global CEOs, Garry Ridge is arguably an outstanding leader. Among his most important achievements is being the CEO of the WD-40 Company since 1997, and during this time he managed to multiply the market value of the company by six, from 250 million dollars to $1.6 billion. In this keynote speech he will talk about the 10 key elements for effective leadership.
Additional Topics:
- Critical decisions every leader must make before committing to cultural transformation
- The six critical characteristics of a highly engaged culture
- The personal journey every CEO takes when implementing organizational cultural transformation
Reviews
Garry was engaging, informational, and a pure delight. I would recommend him to any group under the sun. It was our honor to have him as our 2025 keynote speaker.
