Ginger Hardage

Ginger Hardage retired as Senior Vice President of Culture and Communications at Southwest Airlines after an illustrious 25 years, where she served as a member of the CEO’s executive leadership team. At Southwest, Ginger led a team of 150 people responsible for building and sustaining the organization’s legendary culture and communications enterprise.

In 2017, Ginger launched Unstoppable Cultures, a brand designed to help organizations create and sustain cultures of enduring greatness.

Ginger was responsible for the activities at Southwest that nourished the culture and the internal and external communications function. Ginger was a tireless ambassador of the world-famous Southwest Culture, leading to honors such as being a perpetual standout on FORTUNE’s “Most Admired Companies in the World” list. She helped champion the values, purpose and “Best Place to Work” initiatives at the nation’s largest airline.

Upon her retirement, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said “Ginger has made countless contributions to Southwest. She has been an invaluable business partner, advisor, and mentor. She brings constant, positive energy and enthusiasm to all those around her, and that is infectious. She has built superb teams that we are very proud of, and that I know will continue her special brand of excellence.”

Ginger has received numerous honors throughout her career, including induction into the Public Relations Hall of Fame, being named as one of Texas’ Most Powerful and Influential Women, and receiving the prestigious Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication from the Arthur W. Page Society. PRWeek has named her multiple times to its Top 50 Power list and 50 Most Powerful Women in Public Relations. She was named “Legendary Communicator” by Southern Methodist University, Legacy Award honoree by the Plank Center for Leadership, and selected for the James C. Bowling Executive-In-Residence Lecture Series at the University of Kentucky.

Ginger currently serves as Global Chairman of the Board for Ronald McDonald House Charities. In Dallas, she serves on the board of The Trinity Park Conservancy and was a past president of the Trinity Commons Foundation. Ginger previously served on advisory boards of Novartis in Basel, Switzerland; The Page Society; Business Civic Leadership Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Big Brothers and Sisters of Metropolitan Dallas; Southwest Cares; and the Council of Public Relations Firms.

Before beginning her career at Southwest Airlines in 1990, Ginger held a variety of marketing and public relations positions at Maxus Energy Corporation, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest.

Ginger earned a B.A. in advertising/public relations from Texas Tech University and was recognized as an outstanding alumna by the College of Mass Communications at Texas Tech University.

Ginger lives in Dallas, TX and Santa Fe, NM with her husband, Kelly.