Target Leadership is the safety leadership company founded by Jeff “Odie” Espenship, a former U.S. Air Force A-10 “Warthog” fighter pilot, current international captain for a major airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, air show pilot, and author of Target Leadership. Odie brings the discipline of the cockpit to conference stages, plant floors, and leadership meetings. His audiences range from nuclear operators and utility line crews to refinery workers, NASA engineers, and Fortune 500 executives. His keynotes aren’t preachy. They’re “edutainment” that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you laugh again, and the message keeps working long after the meeting is over.
Safety Leadership Keynotes That Motivate Your Workforce
Whether you need a safety culture speaker for a leadership retreat or a leadership keynote speaker to open your annual conference, Odie tailors the message to your people, from construction and manufacturing to petroleum, chemical, utility, nuclear and transportation. Target Leadership also offers workshops and safety leadership training videos, so the lessons keep working long after the event.
Odie is one of the most sought-after workplace safety and leadership speakers, with a proven track record of inspiring employees at every level, from the crew to the C-suite, to own their safety culture.
What audiences take away
- Speak up, and listen. Cockpit crews are trained so the most junior person can say “stop” and the captain listens. Odie shows teams how to make speaking up and listening normal on every job. That is psychological safety in plain language: people feel safe to speak up because leaders have shown they will listen.
“It takes courage to speak up, and often more courage to listen.”
Odie
- Hold the standard. People are always watching what leaders do, tolerate, and ignore. Often, behaviors sink to the level that’s tolerated. Everyone is a leader, and your influence is bigger than you think.
“If people aren’t held accountable to the correct standards, you will always be a safe place for their substandard work.”
Odie
“Pay attention to the size of the shadow you cast. It is bigger than you think.”
Odie
- Commitment beats programs. Binders, slogans, and software don’t keep people safe. Leaders and crews who commit every day do.
“What’s the best safety leadership program at your company? The one you commit to.”
Odie
- Character is personal leadership. Be accountable, not held accountable. Do the right thing when no one is watching, and want what is right, not to be right.
“Your Character is who you are. Your Reputation is who people think you are.”
Odie
- Job culture is “the way it’s done around here.” Fresh eyes and ears pick up habits, shortcuts, and standards from the people who came before them. Odie helps teams decide which ones get passed on.
“You create and maintain the job culture. Others will work within the norms of the culture that you create. Pay attention to that.”
Odie
- Learn from those who’ve gone before. Aviation’s checklists were written by people who learned the hard way. Debriefs, lessons learned, and near-miss reports let your people learn without paying the same price.
- Smart people do stupid things. Human error and complacency catch experienced, skilled people, not just rookies. Odie shows how the little things done right, every time, are what keep people alive.
Odie’s background
- USAF A-10 fighter pilot. Flew the A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” with the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Eielson AFB, Alaska. He was one of the squadron’s youngest 4-ship flight leaders, an instructor, combat search and rescue qualified, and a multiple Top Gun award winner for air-to-ground bombing and gunnery.
- Top of his class. University of Georgia Air Force ROTC (full academic scholarship, top graduate honors). At Vance AFB he won the Commander’s Trophy as the top graduate of his pilot training class.
- International airline captain. Since 1992 he has flown for a major airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a current international captain.
- Air show pilot. Flew a 1943 T-6 “Texan” on the air show circuit.
- Author of Target Leadership, and a writer for safety publications such as Incident Prevention.
- Founder and CEO of Target Leadership. He has produced, written, and appeared in safety leadership training videos for PPL (Pennsylvania Power & Light), Michelin, and CLECO, and he offers live, virtual, and customized pre-recorded keynotes.
Results that matter
- Progress Energy Florida reported a 48% reduction in personal injuries and a 42% reduction in vehicle accidents after working with Odie.
- An AES Corporation plant went 12 months without a single OSHA recordable injury after several Target Leadership workshops and keynotes.
- Admiral Merchants Motor Fleet‘s CEO called Odie’s message “marvelous” and said it “exceeded expectations.”
- ConocoPhillips Ponca City Refinery: 591 attendees, and “everyone… agreed that Odie was the best speaker we have ever had.”
- PG&E Diablo Canyon Nuclear: Odie spoke to more than 5,000 utility employees.
- OSHA’s BLR newsletter interviewed Odie because his message is “distinctively different” and “receives a lot of ‘BUZZ’ after a presentation.”
Organizations Odie has spoken to
Nuclear & Power Generation
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) · World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Atlanta Centre · Bruce Power · Siemens Energy · NuScale Power · PG&E Diablo Canyon Nuclear · Exelon · Entergy · AES Corporation
Electric Utilities & Electrical Contractors
Southern Company · Eversource · Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) · Georgia Power · Progress Energy Florida · PPL (Pennsylvania Power & Light) · CLECO · Con Edison · National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) · New River Electrical Corporation · IBEW · IEEE
Oil, Gas & Energy
ExxonMobil · Chevron · ConocoPhillips · Valero · Apache Corporation · Imperial Oil · Scientific Drilling · Mirabito Energy
Aerospace, Government & Technology
NASA (Johnson Space Center) · Honeywell Aerospace · General Electric · Schneider Electric / Triconex
Construction, Mining, Manufacturing & Pharma
Balfour Beatty Construction · Rio Tinto · Michelin · Tolmar · Bath Fitter · Sunbelt Rentals
Transportation
Admiral Merchants Motor Fleet
Safety & Trade Associations
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA), including the Region IV PDC and the Region VI conference · National Safety Council (NSC) · ILMA · CMAA · Behavioral Science Technology (BST)
Recently: New River Electrical Foremen’s Conference, Roanoke, VA (October 2026, 600 foremen, employees, and owners).
Bring Odie to your next event
Planning a safety conference, stand-down, or leadership meeting? Give your people a message they’ll remember long after the event ends.
Book a Safety Leadership Keynote » | Call 770-356-6240
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