Charles Aaron Lawry

Dr. Charles Aaron Lawry is an interdisciplinary social scientist and Associate Professor of Marketing at emlyon business school. He previously served as the Head of the Business College at Minerva University and faculty fellow at Hult International Business School (Cambridge), where he was affiliated with the Futures Impact Lab. The Washington Post, Complex Magazine, Luxury Daily, CBS Radio, Indiana Business Journal, and many other popular media outlets have cited his unique perspectives on consumer trends.

Charles Aaron Lawry holds a Ph.D. in Retailing & Consumer Sciences from the University of Arizona, where he studied consumer psychology and completed a fellowship at the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing. He also earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University. Before entering academia, he worked as a digital strategist and copywriter for advertising agencies in New York City. He collaborated with creative and technical teams to revitalize and acclimate heritage brands, such as Tylenol, Mini Cooper, and L'Oreal Men, to the digital age.

As an educator, Charles Aaron Lawry has delivered courses in media studies, marketing, research methods, social theory, and the humanities. He has taught at elite liberal arts colleges, private universities, and R1 land-grant institutions. This 360-degree experience informs his teaching approach and engagement with the science of learning. He enjoys bringing industry trends and active learning into the classroom.

As a researcher, Dr. Lawry examines the art, fashion, and luxury markets. He is especially interested in how emerging media, such as mobile/social and AR/VR, shapes cultural production and technology acceptance within these worlds. He often draws on his diverse training and uses multiple methods to explore these phenomena. These methods include structural equation modeling, scale development, qualitative interviews, historical research, and ethnographic fieldwork.

His scholarly work has been published in psychology, marketing, advertising, and cultural studies journals. Recent examples include Frontiers in Psychology, Psychology & Marketing, Costume Society of America, and the International Journal of Advertising. These insights have enabled him to present his research in global forums, e.g., the LVMH–East Asia Branding Conference, Monaco Symposium on Luxury, Chahoub Symposium on Luxury, Korean Academy of Marketing Science, and the Academy of Marketing.