Aren is the strategy director at Gorilla 76, where she leads the strategy department and works directly with industrial clients to build marketing programs that reach the right buyers and drive real growth. She came up as an in-house industrial marketer, and that experience remains foundational to how she works. She understands what it takes to move a marketing idea from concept to execution inside a manufacturing company: managing stakeholders, building internal buy-in and working within real resource constraints. Just as importantly, she knows how to navigate the competing priorities, personalities and day-to-day realities that determine whether a good idea actually gets done.
Aren started at Gorilla as a college intern before going in-house to gain firsthand manufacturing marketing experience. Her time in-house included a role at Harpak-ULMA, a packaging equipment manufacturer, where she led trade show marketing efforts from booth design and attendee experience to maximizing marketing ROI from live events. She returned to Gorilla as a strategist, bringing that firsthand perspective to the clients she serves today.
She's also an active voice in the industrial marketing community, having served as a host of both The Manufacturing Marketer and Industrial Marketing Collective Live. She's appeared as a podcast guest on topics ranging from AI adoption across marketing teams to the "why not" approach to professional development.
Aren earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Truman State University, with concentrations in marketing and management and a minor in English. She lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with her husband and their two cats. Outside of work, she's an avid reader who runs a couple of book clubs and spends her free time trying new recipes and exploring local events with friends and family.
