TESTIMONIALS
What Clients Are Saying
“Susan has been an invaluable partner to CLEAR over the last 10 years. In her leadership development workshops and consulting, she has challenged us to raise the bar on how we lead, align, and develop talent. Susan has a rare ability to blend research-backed insight with practical, actionable tools that not only elevated our team dynamics but also sharpened how we show up for our people and members—strengthening the culture that powers the CLEAR experience. The impact is clear: stronger collaboration at the top, a more engaged culture throughout the organization, and a sharper focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience. Her partnership was one of the best leadership investments we’ve made. For any executive serious about building high-performing teams and a resilient culture, Susan is the partner you want.”
Jimmy Hahn
EVP, People & Performance
CLEAR
“Susan has truly been a gift to Ford Motor Company. She has an incredible gift of storytelling, to bring to life extremely important lessons on hospitality and culture in the modern business world. We have worked with Susan at both in-person and virtual events. She has been engaging and inspirational in both settings. Susan works hard as a partner to understand our key messages, and helps support and amplify our story through her lessons on culture. Our dealers continually tell us she is the star of the show. If I could only pick one person to speak to my team about customer experience, culture, and hospitality… it would be Susan Salgado.”
Jason H. Sprawka
Director, Global Customer Experience
Ford
“We really wanted to engage a speaker who could get our teams thinking differently about
achieving our goals. Susan was the perfect choice. She has such a compelling vision on how to develop cultures centered around delivering on the customer experience.”
Colleen Kareti
VP Operations
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
“Susan was an integral part of our Leadership Summit, and her keynote was truly a standout moment. She delivered a powerful blend of ‘a-ha’ moments, thoughtful insights, and genuine inspiration. Her investment into really getting to know Securian and understanding our goals for the Summit was invaluable, so that her content was highly relevant and resonated on a deep level. Our leaders walked away with actionable takeaways—especially around leadership’s impact on culture, accountability, and creating a positive climate. The feedback from our team is unanimous: her keynote was exceptional and exactly what we needed.”
Becca Hagen
Vice President Human Resources
Securian Financial Group
“Engaging, intelligent, well-spoken, and forward thinking are several ways that I would describe Susan. When we invited her to speak at one of our events, she went above and beyond. While preparing Susan, we quickly learned to stop preparing her, and allow her to prepare us. Her level of expertise in understanding workplace culture was immediately made apparent and she helped us to create the most valuable and highest rated session of our entire conference—so much that we invited her to be the keynote speaker at our next event just 3 months later. Susan is down to earth, and just wonderful to work with, and she added tremendous value to our organization!”
Drew Fogle
Sales & Development Trainer
ABM Franchising Group
“I was literally overrun with phone calls and office visits from our leaders, excited about what was taught, and more importantly, what was learned in their workshop with you. We have already begun to put many of the concepts into action, and I hear people using the language you taught us. I can’t express how timely this lesson was for us. Thank you for your coaching and guidance.”
Mike Merrill
General Manager
Sewell Family of Companies, Inc.
“Improving our customer experience is our number one imperative this year, and we made a great decision to bring Susan Salgado in to help us to kick off a mindset shift that will be critical to our success. As a Shared Services type of organization, we are a little different because the majority of customers we support are internal colleagues. Susan spent a considerable amount of time with us in advance of the session to make sure she understood our business model, our brand, and even our unique use of certain words. She easily customized her materials to meet our needs. Her delivery was exceptional; she was conversational, engaging and impactful, and managed to get a fairly large audience to participate throughout her presentation. Since the engagement, I have heard many leaders quote her words and share the concepts, so it’s been “a gift that keeps giving!” I highly recommend Susan for any event.”
Nanci Colby
Global Customer Experience Senior Manager
Takeda Business Services
“We had the pleasure of partnering with Susan to lead a motivational session on hospitality during Gallagher Private Client’s first offsite summit. The theme of our summit was Unstoppable, and Susan’s message aligned perfectly with our focus on elevating our brand and client experience. Susan brought an extraordinary blend of insight, warmth, and energy to the room. Her ability to connect hospitality principles to our business in a meaningful and actionable way left a lasting impression on our team. She challenged us to think differently about how we show up for our clients—and for each other—and inspired us to embrace a mindset of excellence and empathy. Susan’s session was a catalyst for deeper conversations about our culture and client promise. We would highly recommend her to any organization looking to elevate their service ethos and ignite their team’s passion.”
Laila Brabander
President, Private Client
Gallagher
“When it comes to people who understand ‘people,’ it doesn’t get any better than Susan. It was a real pleasure working with her — her wisdom and insight into culture and what makes people tick have helped us lay the foundations for a strong, scalable hospitality business across Scotland.”
Kenny Blair
Managing Director
Buzzworks Holdings
“Susan Salgado is a prominent authority on organizational culture. She served as the keynote speaker for our Sentinel Business Forum series in April 2025 which was attended by hundreds of our valued clients, prospects, and corporate partners. Her experience and approach to building enduring cultures resonated with our audience, providing key insight and takeaways to incorporate into their business environments. Her message validated our own firm’s beliefs and inspired us to stay the course as we continue to grow in size and impact.”
James L. Holmes, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Sentinel
“Susan Salgado has been an incredible partner and thought leader for CHANEL US Fashion for nearly a decade. Her relationship with the House is predicated upon her approachable yet elevated vision of hospitality that proves salient across any facet of the service industry. In 2019, Susan was the keynote speaker for CHANEL’s Retail Conclave in New York wherein she inspired CHANEL leaders across the country to think differently about aligning service with brand culture while meeting clients where they are. She was keynote speaker once again for a globally-driven service innovation program in 2023, fueling CHANEL leadership’s determination to challenge the status quo around hospitality within its Fashion Retail network. Years later, Susan’s rich hospitality experience, sharp insights and relatable storytelling continue to inform CHANEL programming and inspire its evolution of service excellence.”
Catherine Porter
Head of Client Engagement and Development, Fashion
Chanel Inc
“Susan Salgado was outstanding as our keynote at the 2025 Private Physicians Alliance Annual Meeting. Her preparation, engagement, and genuine curiosity about our audience made her session the highest-rated of the event, leaving guests raving and eager for more.”
Ellisa H. Hambrecht
CEO
Private Physicians Alliance
“Working with Susan Salgado is a revelation. She guided my team through impactful discovery and helped us to understand the relationship between our actions and the client experience in ways that had been hidden by the routine of our process. Susan adeptly used warmth, humor, and a firm hand making her presentation a fan favorite for the year. From the beginning, organizing her time with us, to the follow up that has taken place since, she has been a treat to work with. That is why this was my second time working with her!”
Jonathan B. Williams
Vice President and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid
Pomona College
“Susan has a “one size fits one” approach with her consulting work. She expertly collaborates to understand an organization – its goals, strengths, and challenges. At SRF, Susan drew from her academic and industry experience to offer practical solutions and tools that helped our executive team focus on the direction we wanted to move our culture, and gave us the tools to do so. This exercise is not to be taken lightly, because the secret to fostering a great culture is all about leadership, and it requires self-reflection and a willingness to learn, believe, and emulate, all the time, in every direction. It has been a pleasure to work with Susan – a consummate professional who promotes a positive workplace culture with her inquisitive, fun, and practical style.”
Todd Pollum
CEO
SRF Consulting
