Chris Auman

Chris Auman is the Founder and President at Sanctuary. He's a veteran entrepreneur with over 3 decades of education and experience in all aspects of marketing and business management. 

Chris currently focuses his time on Sanctuary's growth and vision. That includes everything from marketing and partnerships to acting as the protector and ambassador of Sanctuary’s brand, values, and culture. He’s energized by the process of running, improving, and growing the company every day. His relentless curiosity and love of learning, combined with his passion for continual improvement ultimately guide the company in our pursuit of delivering world-class services that grow our client's businesses.

Chris has WAY too many interests and hobbies and is an unrelenting and exhausting busybody at work and at home. At work, he's always working on the next big thing in his mind or actively working on a project to drive the company forward. He also writes, hosts and produces our podcast over at The Academy! But that's just the start.

Outside of work he's always looking to plan fun activities and adventures with friends, family, parents, and his brother Drew. His favorite part of the whole year is his annual family beach trip where he'll play beach games with his family and actually sit and do nothing for a little while. But that doesn't last long...

Chris creates and sells abstract art, dabbles with photography, rides his bike, walks and hikes with his family, works on home improvement projects, and a never-ending to-do list. He cultivates his garden in the summer, battles with board games and his house plants in the winter, loses money on poker, and attends live music events whenever possible. He loves listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and reading non-fiction books on business, music, biographies, and history. He's very passionate about cooking and eating. He knows how to make authentic sushi, he makes his own wine, and he can craft a mean Margarita and Old Fashioned.

Chris has played drums since he was 7 years old and continues to play to this day. He loves everything Star Wars and enjoys watching movies, TV series, and concerts on his latest project -- a home theatre he designed and built himself. He's also an obsessive music nut that, his wife says, could never live without music in his ears 24-7. Favorite music genres include 80's hair bands, hard rock/heavy metal, guitar-driven blues, and classic rock and pop. He also spends A LOT of time watching sports because his kids are involved with baseball, lacrosse, and volleyball. The family are also dedicated Cleveland Browns, Cavs, and Guardians fans and try to attend games in person every year.

Some of his latest pet projects have included building a custom board game table in his basement, creating a replica Han Solo blaster for his movie wall, and painstakingly recreating an authentic Eddie Van Halen guitar replica for his music wall. (Check out pictures of all three below!)

To round it all out, Chris is a husband (25+ years and counting!), and father of two wild boys and one amazing daughter. He lives in North Canton, Ohio. He also lives with Sofie, his best buddy, who walks him on a daily basis. (Instagram @thecockersofie)

Strengths: Learner | Intellection | Achiever | Discipline | Deliberative
Education: The University of Akron - BFA Graphic Design, Minor in Illustration
Fun Facts: Explorer. Drummer. Paint. Photos. Wasabi.
Fave Quote: “Find a good idea and stick with it.” —Walt Disney