Marci Armstrong

As Director and the Brierley Endowed Professor (Professor of Practice, Marketing), Marci provides strategic leadership to the Brierley Institute for Customer Engagement, the first academic institute in the nation devoted to the study of customer engagement. The Institute seeks to create a rich collaborative environment – an exchange of ideas, insights and practices – bringing together students, professors and business practitioners to advance knowledge and improve business practice, driven to understand how and why customers engage with brands and how engagement drives customer loyalty and value.

A seven-time teaching award honoree including the 2018 MBA Teacher of the Year Award, Marci teaches SMU Cox MBA, PMBA, EMBA and MS students and is also an experienced consultant and executive education instructor. Her recent work leads companies to understand how to engage customers, drive customer loyalty and create memorable customer experiences. Recent clients include American Airlines, Arcis Golf, AT&T Performing Arts Center, Chevron, Chili’s, Cinemark, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Fuel, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Eventide Asset Management, Kendra Scott, Neiman Marcus, Pabst Brewing, Pizza Hut, Sam’s Club, Southwest Airlines, Synchrony Financial and the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.

Marci currently serves on the Board of Marketing EDGE, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to Educate, Develop, Grow, and Employ college students in the field of marketing. She previously served seven years on the Executive MBA Council Board, holding the offices of Chair, Treasurer and Past Chair, and five years on the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) Board of Directors, holding the offices of Chair and Past Chair. Marci recently chaired the GMAC Task Force charged with setting global admissions standards.

For 19 years, Marci was Associate Dean, Graduate Programs, at SMU Cox where she oversaw admissions, student services, diversity, global programs and career management for 14 graduate programs. Prior to joining SMU, Marci was a member of the faculty and associate dean at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Marci’s Ph.D. in Management Science (focused on solving marketing problems with quantitative methods) was earned from the University of Texas at Dallas where she studied under renowned professor Frank Bass.

In her free time, Marci is passionate about cycling and enjoys outdoor activities with her two sons, daughter-in-law and granddaughter who live in Denver.

Research

• Customer Engagement
• Customer Experience
• Marketing Research