01Marketing strategy · Human judgment · Persuasive communication
Understanding people.
Improving decisions.
I connect what we know about people with the decisions organizations need to make—through research, teaching, speaking, workshops, and strategic counsel. Ideas should lead somewhere.
Professor & James J. Pierson Endowed Chair in Marketing
Past President, Academy of Marketing Science
Host, AMS Illuminations Podcast
01 / Point of view
Information is everywhere.
The advantage is knowing what to do with it.
For more than two decades, I have studied how people relate to brands, taught future leaders how to think strategically, and helped turn complex ideas into decisions people can actually use.
My work sits at the intersection of marketing strategy, consumer behavior, education, and human judgment. That intersection has become more important as AI makes answers abundant—and thoughtful evaluation scarce.
I bring the rigor of a researcher, the practicality of an advisor, and the instincts of someone who has spent a lot of time in classrooms, boardrooms, conference rooms, and occasionally on stages of a very different kind.
More about my background →02 / Ways to work together
Rigorous thinking.
Made useful.
01
Speaking & workshops
Keynotes and customized workshops on customer insight, perception, leadership, marketing strategy, AI and judgment, and persuasive communication.
Conferences · Teams · Classrooms↗02Consulting & advisory
Flexible, research-grounded help with customer insight, brand positioning, framing, marketing strategy, and consequential decisions.
Focused questions · Collaborative work · Strategic counsel↗03Boards & governance
Board-ready perspective grounded in nonprofit governance, senior academic leadership, marketing expertise, and a willingness to challenge assumptions constructively.
Corporate strategy · Nonprofit governance · Academic leadership↗03 / Signature ideas
Frameworks people
remember and use.
Presentations
01
A practical approach to making ideas matter, built around C.H.A.R.M.: Clarify, Humanize, Activate, Reduce, and Move.
AI + Education02
Refine.AI
A six-stage process that puts human thinking before, between, and after AI—because assistance is valuable only when judgment stays in the loop.
Strategy03
SURE
A test for stronger differentiation and positioning: Is it simple, unique, relevant, and enduring?
04 / Current thinking
Questions worth
thinking about.
01
02What students learn when AI gives them a better answer
03Marketing is the meaning customers make.
05 / Academic work
Scholarship with
something to say.
I am Professor and James J. Pierson Endowed Chair in Marketing at Saint Louis University’s Chaifetz School of Business and a Saint Louis University Research Institute Fellow.
My research examines consumer-brand relationships, identity, brand meaning, and strategic marketing decision-making. I am also a co-author of the 12th edition of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices and have received recognition for teaching, research, and service.
Explore my research and recent publications →5,000+Google Scholar citations
12thEdition textbook co-author
AcademyPast President
SLUEndowed Chair
06 / Let’s talk
What are you trying
to figure out?
Work with me ↗