Aaron Ahuvia, Ph.D., is a Professor of Marketing and research psychologist who has been ranked 22 in the world for research impact in consumer behavior, and ranked in the top 2% of all scientists in the world across all disciplines by an independent study from Stanford University. Dr. Ahuvia is the world’s leading expert on the psychology of brand love, i.e. how love works when we love an object, activity, or anything else that isn’t a person; and has won numerous awards for this work. He is also a leading expert on the psychology of happiness, focusing on how money, shopping, and spending influence our wellbeing. He has been recognized by Project+ (an interdisciplinary research group) as the leading expert on happiness in the disciplines of marketing and consumer research. He is the author of The Things We Love: How Our Passions Connect Us and Make Us Who We Are (2022).

Exclusively represented by BrightSight Speakers bureau, Professor Ahuvia has over 100 academic publications and presentations, and this research has been quoted in Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Glamour, the Detroit Free Press, major publications in Europe and Japan. Dr. Ahuvia has also appeared on public radio talk shows as well as popular Television shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Professor Ahuvia does research, teaches and consults for governments, nonprofits and corporations in China, Denmark, Oman, Finland, Poland, Morocco, France, Pakistan, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Yemen, and was awarded the first US government grant project in Libya after the lifting of sanctions. He has presented research or consulted for Google, L'Oréal S.A., Samsung, Maybelline New York, Procter & Gamble, Audi, General Motors, Microsoft, Ford, Team Detroit (ad agency for Ford and others), Chrysler, GfK Market Research, Herman Miller; and via the Altagamma consortium, Gucci, Versace, La Perla, Zegna, Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Beretta firearms, Bellavista wines, Bisazza mosaics, and YOOX internet luxury retail, among others.

Professor Ahuvia studied philosophy at the University of Michigan before getting a PhD in marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he worked with the renowned Professor Philip Kotler. From there he became a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business before becoming a Full Professor at the College of Business on UM’s Dearborn Campus. He also holds an appointment as a Professor at the University of Michigan Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design.