Emil Michael
Angel Investor, Strategic Advisor, Former Chief Business Officer at Uber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DPCM Capital
Garry Ridge
Former Chairman & CEO, WD-40 Company | Founder, The Learning Moment | Bestselling Author | Expert in Corporate Culture & Servant Leadership
Garry Ridge spent 25 years turning WD-40 into one of the world's most admired workplace cultures — growing its market cap from $250 million to $3.5 billion while keeping employee engagement above 93%. Now, as a speaker, author, and CEO coach, he shares the complete playbook: how leaders build cultures where values are lived, learning replaces blame, and people genuinely love coming to work.
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Garry Ridge biography
Garry Ridge is one of the world’s most recognized authorities on corporate culture, servant leadership, and the conditions that make organizations genuinely great places to work. As the former Chairman and CEO of WD-40 Company, he led the business for 25 years — growing its market capitalization from $250 million to $3.5 billion, expanding operations to 176 countries, and achieving employee engagement levels above 93%, with 98% of employees saying they loved working there. Few leaders anywhere have built a culture this measurable, this durable, and this replicable.
Corporate culture speaker Garry Ridge is best known for his concept of the “tribe culture” — a leadership philosophy rooted in belonging, psychological safety, continuous learning, and values that are lived rather than laminated. At WD-40, this translated into concrete business results: the company posted annual compounded growth of roughly 14% under his tenure, became a globally recognized consumer brand, and was repeatedly cited as one of the world’s best workplaces. Ridge’s transformation of WD-40 is studied in business schools and referenced by executives worldwide as a case study in what genuine people-first leadership actually produces.
His intellectual framework draws on decades of practice as well as formal study: Ridge holds a Master of Science in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego, where he also served as an adjunct professor teaching corporate culture principles. His collaboration with management legend Ken Blanchard produced Helping People Win at Work, a widely adopted business text. His most recent book, Any Dumb Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company (2025), synthesizes his full journey — the lessons, the failures, and the framework any leader can use to build a culture where people make meaningful contributions and go home happy.
The Learning Moment: Coaching, Speaking, and a New Chapter
Since retiring as CEO in 2022 and transitioning to Chairman Emeritus, Ridge has channeled his experience into The Learning Moment, his consultancy dedicated to coaching CEOs and senior leaders through cultural transformation. He has also been recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Diego Business Journal, the Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur Award, and was named one of the Top 10 Global CEOs by Inc. magazine, which also ranked him the fourth-best CEO on earth.
As a speaker, Garry Ridge delivers something few leadership voices can offer: a complete story, told with Aussie candor and hard-won humility, of how a single leader’s commitment to learning and belonging transformed an entire organization — and kept transforming it for 25 years. Audiences leave not with abstract inspiration but with a concrete, field-tested framework for building cultures where values are not wall art but daily practice, where mistakes become learning moments, and where people genuinely look forward to Mondays.
Garry Ridge Speaking Videos
Helping People Win At Work: WD-40 Tribal Leadership with Garry Ridge
Garry Ridge - A Powerful Pledge That Spreads Accountability in the Workplace
Garry Ridge Keynote Topics
Drawing on 25 years of cultural transformation at WD-40 Company, Ridge walks audiences through the principles behind one of the world's most engaged workforces. This keynote examines what tribal culture actually means in practice — how it is built through shared values, psychological safety, and a leadership style rooted in coaching rather than commanding. Ridge shares the specific decisions, frameworks, and mindset shifts that drove WD-40's engagement above 93% and its market cap to $3.5 billion, offering leaders a clear and actionable roadmap for cultural transformation in their own organizations.
Most organizations pay lip service to a "learning culture" while quietly punishing failure. Ridge shows audiences what a genuine learning culture looks like — and what it produces. This keynote introduces the Learning Moment philosophy: a systematic approach to replacing fear and blame with curiosity and growth. He explains how WD-40 embedded this mindset into every layer of the organization, from frontline teams to the boardroom, and demonstrates why organizations that learn faster consistently outperform those that merely execute. Audiences leave with practical tools for shifting their own cultures from reactive to generative.
Based on his 2025 bestseller, this keynote is Ridge at his most candid — honest about his early failures as a command-and-control leader, the professor who changed his thinking, and the long, sometimes uncomfortable journey toward servant leadership. He shares the framework he calls the Four Pillars of a Friction-Free Culture, the story behind WD-40's famous "Maniac Pledge," and the simple but transformative conviction that great cultures are not built by great geniuses — they are built by committed, humble leaders willing to put people first. Entertaining, practical, and deeply human.
In a world where culture is increasingly recognized as a strategic asset, most organizations still treat values as communications exercises. Ridge offers a fundamentally different framework: values as an operating system — the invisible infrastructure that allows employees at every level to make decisions with confidence, act with integrity, and contribute to something larger than themselves. This keynote explores how WD-40 designed, embedded, and sustained a values-driven culture across 176 countries, and what it takes for any leader to move from articulating values to actually living them.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Garry Ridge
Why Garry Ridge?
Booking Garry Ridge means bringing one of the most credible and results-backed voices in corporate culture to your event. Unlike speakers who teach culture theory, Ridge spent 25 years actually building it — growing WD-40 from a $250 million company to a $3.5 billion global brand while maintaining employee engagement levels that most organizations can only dream about. His story is not aspirational; it is documented, measurable, and reproducible. He delivers it with the directness, warmth, and self-deprecating humor of someone who has learned as many hard lessons as he has celebrated wins. Whether your audience is navigating a cultural transformation, struggling with disengagement, or building the next chapter of their leadership, Ridge gives them a framework that actually works — because he used it himself for a quarter century. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check availability and speaking fees.
What is the "Learning Moment" philosophy?
The Learning Moment is Garry Ridge's foundational leadership philosophy, developed during his tenure at WD-40 Company: the idea that organizations should replace the language of failure with the language of learning. Rather than punishing mistakes, leaders who adopt this approach create psychological safety — an environment where employees feel free to take initiative, share ideas, and try new things without fear of blame. At WD-40, this translated into a culture where mistakes were openly discussed, analyzed, and turned into institutional knowledge. Ridge argues that this single shift — from a fear-based culture to a learning-based culture — is the most powerful lever available to any leader seeking to drive engagement, innovation, and long-term performance.
What books has Garry Ridge written?
Garry Ridge is the author of two major business books. The first, Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A", was co-authored with legendary management thinker Ken Blanchard and published in 2009. It outlines the leadership and coaching principles Ridge applied at WD-40 to build one of the world's most engaged workforces. His most recent book, Any Dumb Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company (2025), tells the full story of his 25-year journey at WD-40 — the transformation, the learning moments, and the practical framework any leader can apply to build a culture rooted in belonging and purpose.
What topics does corporate culture speaker Garry Ridge cover?
As a keynote speaker, Garry Ridge addresses the full spectrum of organizational culture, servant leadership, and employee engagement. His core topics include building tribal cultures where employees feel genuine belonging, the Learning Moment philosophy and how it replaces fear with innovation, the role of values in creating organizational freedom, servant leadership and the shift from managing to coaching, succession planning and developing leaders from within, and the measurable business results that flow from people-first culture. His talks are tailored for executive audiences, HR and people leaders, and organizations navigating cultural change or disengagement. To book speaker Garry Ridge for your event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Garry Ridge as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Garry Ridge as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Garry Ridge's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Garry Ridge or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Garry Ridge speaking fee?
Garry Ridge speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Garry Ridge to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Garry Ridge.
How can I contact Garry Ridge?
We only work with Garry Ridge on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Garry Ridge and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Garry Ridge speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Garry Ridge for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Garry Ridge for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Garry Ridge is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Garry Ridge for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
