Dave Ridley retired from Southwest Airlines in 2015 after a twenty-seven-year career. During this period he served as a senior executive in a variety of operational, commercial, and staff functions including SVP Chief Marketing Officier; SVP People and Leadership Development; SVP Business Development, and VP of Ground (Airport) Operations. From 1998 until his retirement he served on the Executive Committee, the CEO's staff responsible for strategy and corporate policy.
Dave now provides keynote speeches and consults with organizations across the world sharing lessons learned in his career at Southwest regarding building a world-class brand based on service excellence, the type of leadership required to do so, and the importance of a healthy corporate culture in sustaining it.
A native Texan, Dave earned his BBA in the Honors Business Program at the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and received his MBA from Southern Methodist University in 1981. Dave has enjoyed 39 years of undeserved good fortune as the husband of Mary Flo Ridley. They are the grateful parents of three children as well as the grandparents of eight sweet grandchildren. He is a passionate golf nut whose addiction thereto is perhaps equaled only by his love for ice cream.
