Aaron Edwards
Founder · Speaker · Investor

Bringing Intelligence And Outstanding Creativity To The World's Most Prestigious Brands.

CEO of The Charles Group. Cannes Lion winner. Five-time Inc. 5000. Coined Brandformance — where brand strategy meets performance accountability.

Family man. Car enthusiast. World traveler. Sports fanatic.
Trusted by industry leaders
CARTIER HP ST. REGIS Bloomberg BCG BNY MELLON AVEDA BIRKENSTOCK MACKAGE BESSEMER TRUST CORCORAN OMEGA IBM ESTÉE LAUDER MARRIOTT BONVOY ORIGINS CARTIER HP ST. REGIS Bloomberg BCG BNY MELLON AVEDA BIRKENSTOCK MACKAGE BESSEMER TRUST CORCORAN OMEGA IBM ESTÉE LAUDER MARRIOTT BONVOY ORIGINS

Ventures

What I'm building.

Creative Agency

Strategy-first creative agency serving Fortune 50 brands. Cannes Lions-winning, five-time Inc. 5000 honoree. Offices in New York, Chicago, and London.

Fund of Funds

Investing across emerging and established fund managers. LP positions spanning equities, real assets, and international real estate.

Coming Soon

Something new is in the works. A new platform at the intersection of intelligence and opportunity. Details coming soon.


About

The story

Aaron co-founded The Charles Group in 2011 with his sister Samantha Edwards. With almost identical views on brands, businesses, and the creative landscape, they set out to build an agency with a difference.

That conviction built a firm that now serves Fortune 50 clients across luxury, lifestyle, and financial services — including Cartier, HP, St. Regis, Boston Consulting Group, and IBM — from offices in New York, Chicago, and London. The work has earned a Cannes Lion, D&AD Pencils, Webby Awards, and a reputation for creative excellence that moves numbers.

Before building The Charles Group, Aaron studied and worked in finance, a background that still shapes every engagement. He leads with analytical rigor: financial modeling, forecasting, and business-case development that turns marketing from a cost center into a growth engine. He coined the term "Brandformance" to describe this philosophy, fusing brand strategy with performance accountability to solve for the business challenge, not just the marketing challenge.

He is based in New York.


Speaking

Keynotes, panels & guest lectures

Aaron Edwards is available for keynotes, executive workshops, panels, and guest lectures on luxury brand strategy, the business of creativity, and the intersection of marketing and finance.

Columbia Business School
Guest Lecturer — MBA Marketing Strategy
New York University
Guest Lecturer
Pace University — Lubin School
Board of Advisors, since 2020
HP CEO Summit
Panel: Global Supplier Diversity Program

Super Bowl LX | Advertising Analysis

NY1 Spectrum News · February 2026

Press

Awards & press

Cannes Lions
International Festival of Creativity
Winner
Inc. 5000
Fastest-Growing Private Companies
5× Consecutive
D&AD Pencils
WSJ × Netflix Cocainomics
2× Winner
Webby Awards
Best Branded Editorial Experience
Winner
Creative Review
Annual Selection
Selected
Forbes
30 Under 30 — Honoree
2018
LBB Online
The Charles Group: Sparking Growth with Reinvention
Feb 2025
Jaguar — National TV Campaign
F-PACE: The New Faces of Jaguar
2019–2020
D&AD / Webby Awards
Cocainenomics — WSJ × Netflix branded editorial campaign
2× D&AD Pencil · Webby Winner
Forbes Campaign US LBB Online Design Milk Authority Magazine Supply Chain Now Girlboss The Manual
TV & Video
Podcasts
View full press archive →

Contact

Let's talk

Speaking inquiries, press, and business.

For keynote bookings, media requests, or professional inquiries, reach out directly.