Before he was leading one of the fastest-growing platforms in the outdoor industry, Chris Macaulay was navigating boardrooms and building global campaigns at top-tier advertising agencies. His career in marketing stretched more than a decade, but something wasn’t adding up.

“We were getting paid for time, not outcomes,” Macaulay says. “I wanted real skin in the game. I wanted to build something tangible.”

That drive sparked a new chapter. In 2023, Macaulay joined Killara Outdoors as CEO, bringing with him not just a deep knowledge of consumer behavior, but a hunger to rewire how companies scale in one of the most overlooked sectors of the American economy.

From Brand Strategy to Operational Leadership

Macaulay’s career pivot was not cosmetic. He traded pitch decks and creative briefs for freight quotes, P&Ls, and warehouse walk-throughs. The transition required more than leadership—it required humility.

“I knew brand and marketing, but I had to learn supply chain, inventory management, finance, vendor operations—everything under the hood,” he explains. “So I surrounded myself with experts, asked a lot of questions, and got to work.”

That willingness to learn became a core value across Killara’s platform. Today, it informs the company’s approach to acquisitions, integrations, and portfolio-wide operations.

“You can’t just be a vision guy,” Macaulay says. “You have to be in the trenches. That’s how you earn trust and build companies that last.”

Scaling With Discipline and Empathy

Now operating across offices in Fort Worth, Boulder, and Hong Kong, Killara Outdoors supports a growing portfolio of outdoor brands—from heritage fishing companies to new-era lifestyle ventures.

Under Macaulay’s leadership, Killara has implemented a centralized platform that provides operational infrastructure, leadership development, and multi-channel growth systems. The company’s mission is not just to acquire brands—but to help founders scale without losing their identity.

“We don’t buy brands to flip them,” Macaulay says. “We back founders to build them. Long-term. With purpose.”

Staying Close to the Field

Despite overseeing a multi-brand operation, Macaulay remains closely connected to each brand’s day-to-day. He regularly travels between facilities, works directly with production teams, and supports operators across strategy, execution, and team development.

“It’s easy to build a great PowerPoint,” he says. “It’s harder to build something that works in the real world. That’s why I stay close to the floor. That’s where the answers are.”

About Killara Outdoors

Killara Outdoors is a multi-brand platform company headquartered in Texas, with operations across the U.S. and Asia. Focused on acquiring and scaling purpose-driven outdoor brands, Killara offers centralized infrastructure, operational discipline, and founder-aligned partnership models. Visit killara.com to learn more.

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