Motivational Keynote Speaker for Atlanta Corporate Events

By Marques Ogden · Updated September 2026

By Marques Ogden · Former NFL Player, Keynote Speaker · Updated June 2026

The short answer: If you are planning a corporate event in Atlanta and need a motivational keynote speaker, Marques Ogden brings a story Atlanta audiences connect with: NFL offensive lineman, founder of a construction company that grew fast and collapsed faster, and a rebuild from rock bottom into a career speaking for Fortune 500 companies. Atlanta is one of the most active corporate-event markets in the country, and Marques speaks there regularly — sales kickoffs, leadership summits, association conferences, and DEI programs. Booking starts with a 15-minute call to match the message to your event.

Why Atlanta companies book Marques

Atlanta hosts one of the densest concentrations of Fortune 500 headquarters in the country — Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, UPS — plus a deep bench of logistics, fintech, and healthcare companies that run large annual meetings. Event planners in this market have seen every generic motivational talk. What lands is a speaker with a real story and frameworks the audience can use Monday morning.

Marques's story is built for that audience. He played offensive line in the NFL, started a construction firm after football, scaled it to eight figures in contracts, and lost it all in 90 days. The climb back — starting as a gym custodian and rebuilding into a national keynote career — is the spine of every talk. The message is not "stay positive." It is what discipline, honest self-assessment, and daily reps actually look like when everything has gone wrong.

Keynote topics for corporate events

• Leadership under pressure. What the locker room and the bankruptcy table both teach about leading when the plan fails. See the frameworks in leadership under pressure.
• Resilience and the comeback. The rock-bottom-to-rebuild story, with the practical steps between — covered in depth in what rock bottom actually teaches leaders.
• Sales and execution. Why winning teams do the boring reps, and how to build a daily-discipline culture in a sales organization.
• Team alignment. Getting a room of individual contributors to play like a unit — the offensive-line version of teamwork, where nobody scores but everybody wins.

Each keynote is customized on a pre-event call: your theme, your audience, your business context.

What Atlanta event planners can expect

1. A 15-minute discovery call to confirm the event goal, audience, and theme.
2. A customized keynote — typically 45 to 60 minutes, with Q&A optional.
3. Simple logistics. Atlanta is a short flight from Marques's home base, which keeps travel straightforward and costs predictable for Georgia events.
4. Pre-event promotion. A short promo video for your internal comms or event page on request.

Venues and event types we serve in Atlanta

Corporate keynotes at the Georgia World Congress Center, hotel ballroom conferences in Buckhead and Midtown, sales kickoffs at company headquarters, association annual meetings, and university and athletic-department events. Half-day workshop formats are available alongside the keynote for teams that want to go deeper.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should we book?

Most Atlanta corporate events book 2 to 6 months out. Shorter windows are sometimes possible — ask on the discovery call.

What does a keynote cost?

Fees depend on format, customization, and date. The current fee structure and what is included is covered in how much Marques Ogden charges for a keynote.

Does Marques do virtual or hybrid events?

Yes. Virtual keynotes run 30 to 45 minutes with live Q&A. Hybrid setups — in-person in Atlanta with remote offices joining — are common for distributed companies.

Can the keynote be tailored to our industry?

Yes, and it should be. The discovery call covers your industry, your audience's current pressure points, and the outcome you want the room to leave with.

Book the date

If you have an Atlanta event on the calendar, start with the discovery call. Dates in the spring and fall conference seasons go first.