Aaron Ahuvia Ph.D.

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. Professor Ahuvia’s research has been quoted in Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Glamour, the Detroit Free Press, and other 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. Most recently, he is the author of The Things We Love: How Our Passions Connect Us and Make Us Who We Are, published by Little, Brown.

Peace, Love and Happiness may seem like an odd title for a blog by a marketing professor, but it fits Dr. Ahuvia’s work and interests. Dr. Ahuvia is the world’s most published and cited expert on our love for objects, activities, places, organizations, products, and brands (AKA brand love). 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 international research group) as the leading expert on happiness in the disciplines of marketing and consumer research. Finally, in his extensive high-level activism, Prof. Ahuvia has applied his expertise to help promote peace in the Middle East and also works to reduce polarization between liberals and conservatives in the United States. This activism has included projects in Israel, Kazakhstan, Oman, Morocco, Rwanda, Yemen, and Libya; as well as working with Braver Angels in the US.

Professor Ahuvia studied philosophy at the University of Michigan before getting a Ph.D. 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. Professor Ahuvia 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. He does research, teaches and consults for governments, nonprofits and corporations in China, Denmark, Finland, Poland, France, Pakistan, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.