For Chris Macaulay, CEO of Killara Outdoors, great businesses aren’t just built on strategy, product, or capital—they’re built on culture.
In the newly published article Culture as a Competitive Advantage: How Killara Outdoors CEO Chris Macaulay Is Redefining Leadership in the Outdoor Industry, the executive outlines his people-first blueprint for sustainable growth and why investing in culture is more than just a feel-good initiative.
“Culture builds companies,” Macaulay says. “You can fake a product for a while. You can’t fake values.”
Since taking the helm at Killara in 2023, Macaulay has overseen rapid growth across the company’s multi-brand portfolio. With offices in Texas, Colorado, and Hong Kong, Killara supports outdoor brands in the fishing, hunting, and lifestyle sectors—but it’s the company’s shared cultural operating system that’s driving the real momentum.
At Killara, culture isn’t confined to HR or annual surveys. It’s built into the cadence of the business: from structured onboarding processes and decentralized decision-making to monthly “Culture Builds” that reinforce trust, transparency, and team alignment across brands and departments.
“If you don’t define culture, it defines itself—and usually not in a good way,” Macaulay notes.
Killara’s values-led approach is a breath of fresh air in an industry where founder burnout, post-acquisition dissonance, and communication breakdowns are common. By prioritizing clarity, shared purpose, and personal growth, Macaulay and his team have created an environment where leadership development and operational excellence go hand-in-hand.
“We’re not just scaling products—we’re scaling people,” he adds. “If your team is aligned, focused, and healthy, they’ll find ways to win—especially when things get hard.”
The article highlights how Killara’s culture-first model is influencing a new wave of operators who want to grow with purpose, not just profit. In a market that often prioritizes speed and scale at the cost of soul, Killara is building something different—and lasting.
Read the full article: killara.com/blog/culture-as-a-competitive-advantage-how-killara-outdoors-ceo-chris-macaulay-is-redefining-leadership-in-the-outdoor-industry
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Company Name: Killara Outdoors
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State: TX 76092
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Website: https://killara.com/
