R. Ethan Braden
VP, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Texas A&M University
R. Ethan Braden serves as Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Drawn to Texas A&M because of its storied tradition and rich brand of academic excellence, research prowess, and commitment to selfless service, Ethan brings a passion for building brands and teams that people worldwide love and trust to Aggieland and College Station, Texas. Reporting to Texas A&M’s President, retired four-star general Mark Welsh, Braden leads the University’s storytelling and reputation-building strategies, passionately positioning, promoting, and protecting the powerful Texas A&M brand nationwide and globally.
Now a year into role, Ethan and his reformulated team at Texas A&M University are having swift and material impact: a new university-wide brand platform; novel partnerships and activations including Dude Perfect, NASCAR, and SXSW; and a commitment to emotive video storytelling with a catalogue of content that has already garnered more than 40 million views on YouTube in 6 months, a 13,600% increase vs. 2023. Additionally, Fast Company named Texas A&M University one of their 2025 World’s Most Innovative Companies, the only university in the world on the list.
Ethan’s advice on brand building, marketing, leadership, and higher education has appeared in Fast Company magazine, The Washington Post, Ad Age, The Hechinger Report, and Morning Brew. He has spoken at Salesforce’s Dreamforce, Connections, AdWeek’s Brandweek, Google Marketing Live, and keynoted at Content Marketing World. NPR reported that “if there is a top dog in higher ed marketing, it’s Ethan Braden.”
In 2023, Ethan was named 2023 Content Marketer of the Year (B2C) by the Content Marketing Institute, selected among thousands of candidates and finalists including senior marketing leaders from State Farm and the National Humane Society.
Prior to Texas A&M University, Ethan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Purdue University and Purdue Global, Ethan transformed Purdue's marketing engine into the enthusiastic driver of Purdue’s brand, growth, and prosperity through emotive storytelling, marketing prowess, and team development. His leadership resulted in the team’s production of award-winning content, with over 55 million YouTube views of its video content in 2023 alone. During his tenure, Fast Company Magazine selected Purdue University as a "Brand That Matter" three years in a row, the only university on a list with Fortune 100 icons including Ford, McDonald’s, and Nike. Fast Company Magazine also selected Purdue University as one of its “Most Innovative Companies” in 2022, the only university on the list, ahead of both NASA and Disney, and “#1 Most Innovative” in the Education category.
In 2020, Ethan and Purdue University swept the American Marketing Association's annual awards for higher education as Ethan was named 'Marketer of the Year' and Purdue’s central marketing team was honored as ‘Team of the Year’.
Before Purdue, Ethan excelled in marketing and sales leadership roles at Eli Lilly & Company for over a decade, helping to build and launch billion-dollar brands including Cymbalta and Jardiance. Ethan earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor's degree from Willamette University. He, his wife Betsy, and their three children now call College Station home, embracing both the heat and the maroon-hot Aggie Spirit.
Now a year into role, Ethan and his reformulated team at Texas A&M University are having swift and material impact: a new university-wide brand platform; novel partnerships and activations including Dude Perfect, NASCAR, and SXSW; and a commitment to emotive video storytelling with a catalogue of content that has already garnered more than 40 million views on YouTube in 6 months, a 13,600% increase vs. 2023. Additionally, Fast Company named Texas A&M University one of their 2025 World’s Most Innovative Companies, the only university in the world on the list.
Ethan’s advice on brand building, marketing, leadership, and higher education has appeared in Fast Company magazine, The Washington Post, Ad Age, The Hechinger Report, and Morning Brew. He has spoken at Salesforce’s Dreamforce, Connections, AdWeek’s Brandweek, Google Marketing Live, and keynoted at Content Marketing World. NPR reported that “if there is a top dog in higher ed marketing, it’s Ethan Braden.”
In 2023, Ethan was named 2023 Content Marketer of the Year (B2C) by the Content Marketing Institute, selected among thousands of candidates and finalists including senior marketing leaders from State Farm and the National Humane Society.
Prior to Texas A&M University, Ethan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Purdue University and Purdue Global, Ethan transformed Purdue's marketing engine into the enthusiastic driver of Purdue’s brand, growth, and prosperity through emotive storytelling, marketing prowess, and team development. His leadership resulted in the team’s production of award-winning content, with over 55 million YouTube views of its video content in 2023 alone. During his tenure, Fast Company Magazine selected Purdue University as a "Brand That Matter" three years in a row, the only university on a list with Fortune 100 icons including Ford, McDonald’s, and Nike. Fast Company Magazine also selected Purdue University as one of its “Most Innovative Companies” in 2022, the only university on the list, ahead of both NASA and Disney, and “#1 Most Innovative” in the Education category.
In 2020, Ethan and Purdue University swept the American Marketing Association's annual awards for higher education as Ethan was named 'Marketer of the Year' and Purdue’s central marketing team was honored as ‘Team of the Year’.
Before Purdue, Ethan excelled in marketing and sales leadership roles at Eli Lilly & Company for over a decade, helping to build and launch billion-dollar brands including Cymbalta and Jardiance. Ethan earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor's degree from Willamette University. He, his wife Betsy, and their three children now call College Station home, embracing both the heat and the maroon-hot Aggie Spirit.