Chris Aarons

Chris Aarons is a marketing strategist, bestselling author, and professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. His newest book, OUTBRAND: The 15 Essential Marketing Principles to Outthink, Outposition, and Outlast Your Competition, is a practical decision system for leaders who want to make sharper choices, build positions competitors cannot easily take, and create work people remember, trust, and choose.

Across three decades, Chris has advised Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, Coca-Cola, HP, Cisco, and USAA, helping them turn customer insight into sharper strategy and growth. He is also co-author of The Digital Helix, a Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller, and Social Media Judo. A six-time teaching award winner, Chris translates principles, mindset, psychology, and field experience into clear frameworks leaders can use immediately. His work is grounded in a simple belief: better gets you compared; distinct gets you chosen.