Sixteen years ago when Brandon Chicotsky departed Fort Worth to pursue a bachelor’s at The University of Texas at Austin, his hometown had approximately 300,000 fewer residents than its current, burgeoning status. The city had cultural mainstays such as The Stockyards and The Amon Carter Museum, but had not yet earned its new-age, vibrancy claim of “funkytown.”
Today’s TCU students and area residents indulge in new scenes that were once segmented to seemingly far-off lands, such as award-winning pop-up restaurants, artisan food trucks, crafty do-it-yourself community meetups, urban yoga mobs, trendy social impact volunteer movements, refurbished-bricked mixology bars, loungy movie taverns and artist street festivals.
After Brandon completed his undergraduate studies, he began working at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. His work involved lobbying the U.S. Congress and policy influencers for military aid appropriations to support strategic allies of America, principally Israel. Brandon would eventually live in Tel Aviv while completing an externship in private equity as part of his master’s in management at New York University.
While Brandon was working at AIPAC, his hometown demonstrated noteworthy resilience during the ‘08-’09 recession. The city’s housing-market-appreciation outperformed the country’s index by several points and has since established itself among the “top rankings for consistent growth” (Redfin, 2019). This trend would help direct Brandon’s future plans.
Between graduate degrees that included a Ph.D. in communication and information sciences (media and branding + data science + emerging technology) from The University of Alabama, Brandon worked in growth-stage companies as a Chief Marketing Officer. He then accepted a business faculty appointment at Johns Hopkins University, which was followed by a return to NYU to serve as a marketing professor.
Like Brandon, Fort Worth remained spiritedly Texan throughout a journey of growth and infused international insight. As Cowtown emerged, Brandon’s family layed long-term stakes in the ground, as exemplified by Chicotsky Real Estate Group—a partnership led by Brandon’s older brother, David, and sister-in-law, Michaela, in association with Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.
Brandon’s journey came full circle this fall when he accepted a marketing professorship at TCU’s Neeley School of Business. Whether in lectureship or while accompanying him at Carshon’s Deli—Fort Worth’s first Jewish deli co-founded by his great-grandfather in 1928—Brandon’s energy is a blend of joy and purpose. Over a bagel and lox, Professor Chicotsky remarked, “Perhaps my journey is somewhat analogous to Cowtown of late. I’m stronger now, so I have more to give. And similar to Fort Worth, my best is yet to come.”