Motivational Safety Keynote Speaker: Former Fighter Pilot Jeff “Odie” Espenship

Former A-10 Warthog pilot helping organizations send every employee home safe, every day.

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Odie Espenship delivering a safety keynote on stage

From the cockpit to the stageKeynotes that make your people laugh, cry and never forget why safety matters.

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Meet Jeff “Odie” Espenship

Jeff “Odie” Espenship flew the A-10 Warthog as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and today flies as an international captain for a major airline based in Atlanta, Georgia. When his brother was killed in a T-6 aircraft accident, Odie turned that loss into a mission: Target Leadership, helping organizations send every employee home safe, every day.

Keynote themes:

Defeating complacency: checklists and the little things
Speak up: Crew Resource Management for safer teams
Leadership that builds a lasting safety culture

Industries served: construction, manufacturing, petroleum, chemical, utility, nuclear and transportation.

Book Odie for your event » or call 770-356-6240

Next Level Safety Keynotes

Event planners call Odie when they want a motivational safety speaker who can reach everyone in the room, from the crew in the field to the leadership team. Every Target Leadership keynote is built around your people, your hazards and your goals.

Jeff “Odie” Espenship of Target Leadership delivers customized motivational keynotes that inspire workplace safety and leadership performance at all employee levels: Construction, Manufacturing, Petroleum, Chemical, Utility, Nuclear, Transportation, plus Trade Associations, Corporate Events and Customized PreRecorded Messages

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An outstanding keynote speaker connecting leadership, accountability, and safety to the decisions people make under pressure. A true friend who I watched make over 600 New River supervisors laugh and cry all while helping us better understand effective leadership. Well done sir!

I.P.President & CEO, New River Electrical Corporation

Jeff did a fabulous job for us. He started our conference off with a real vibrant presentation that got everyone talking and thinking. Just what we had hoped he would do. I am very happy to say that I would recommend Jeff to any other safety conference group looking for a dynamic and vibrant speaker with a topic that dovetails nicely with the needs and challenges of the occupational health and safety world. And you can quote me on that

T.S.Pacific Safety Center

We hired Jeff to speak on workplace safety leadership at two of our annual manager meetings. His work was so impactful and relevant that we engaged him again to lead an event for our field supervisors and the leadership of many of our key subcontractors. The feedback we received from all three events was overwhelmingly positive. The audience felt engaged and inspired, but more importantly, they were motivated to change their behavior.

J.W.Balfour Beatty Construction

Odie, Thank you for a great keynote and opening our leadership workshop yesterday. I received fantastic feedback that you ‘NAILED IT’ with the message!

J.S.Honeywell Aerospace

I work at JSC (NASA Johnson Space Center) and listened to your talk today via the live video from my desk. I just wanted to thank you for your talk and sharing your personal experiences. I found your talk very inspirational and a good reminder of how important the small things can be when it comes to safety and inspiring others. I’m going to order your book online to read and share with my coworkers and management. Thank you again!

A.B.Crew Office - ISS Integration Branch
NASA JSC

Odie gets the message across to his audience. He spoke to over 5,000 of our utility employees. His content and body language syncs so well that his message stays with his audience for a long time.

K.R.Senior Advising Project Manager
Pacific Gas & Electric Diablo Canyon Nuclear

We had 591 people attend Odie’s presentation at our refinery on January 19th and 20th. Everyone that I have spoken to agreed that Odie was the best speaker we have ever had.

S.W.Safety & Health Manager
ConocoPhillips Ponca City Refinery

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Jeff “Odie” Espenship

Odie’s unique edutaining-speaking-persona will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you laugh again.

“When it comes to operational excellence in the workplace, you won’t remember every word I say, but you will never forget how I made you feel about always doing things right!”

As a former USAF fighter pilot and current international airline pilot, Odie also flew a 1943 T-6 “Texan” on the airshow circuit. A tragic aviation accident took the life of his brother; Odie shares his personal leadership role in that loss as a catalyst to inspire audiences around the world in leadership safety fundamentals.

“Everyone is a leader! We all influence the behaviors of others! What is going to be your legacy?

“Pay attention to the size of the shadow you cast. You are influencing others more than you know.”

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