Meet the ‘Triplets in Tech’: Chad, Lee and Neil Aronson

UC grads praise co-op's enduring impact on their careers

Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Chad, Lee and Neil Aronson, Bus ’01, were initiated into the business world as grade schoolers — and the triplet brothers haven’t looked back since. Separated in age by mere minutes, the San Francisco-based trio have enduring personal and professional bonds.

They worked together at a GE co-op as undergrads, have overlapped at three companies (Blue Shield of California, Salesforce and Uber) and (unsurprisingly) possess a proclivity for completing each other’s sentences.

The Aronsons credit a CEO friend with inspiring their ‘Triplets in Tech’ talks, where they share their backgrounds and career journeys — both individual and shared. They have presented at an Apex Assembly conference and VISIONS’s CIO Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, and plan to bring their talk to UC soon.

In this interview, the brothers discuss sibling rivalry (or lack thereof), co-op's lasting impact on their careers, giving back and more.

Walk me through your memories of growing up in Akron.

The Aronson triplets as children.

Chad: One thing that sticks out is that we were all in the restaurant business. My father owned three or four or five restaurants and bars. Starting at nine years old, we were bus boys at his restaurants working like two hours a week — just getting us familiar with working and the value of a dollar.

Neil: We also had our own business called AAA Lawn Service, where we shoveled snow in the winter and mowed lawns in the summer. The three of us had a paper route, one of the biggest ones in Akron. We’ve just been working since we were very young. It’s given us a (strong) work ethic and translated into work success as adults.

Was there friendly — or not-so-friendly competition — between the three of you, academically or otherwise?

Chad: Always friendly. If you think about our background, we helped each other a lot. I think more specifically, Lee helped me and Neil a lot.

That’s surprising, given how close the three of you obviously are in age.

Neil: From when we graduated from UC until [late 2024], two out of the three of us have always worked for the same company. At all the companies we’ve overlapped with and worked together, we’ve always supported each other in business. Chad was my stakeholder when I worked for Uber for eight and a half years, and he was Lee’s business partner at Blue Shield. We’ve always worked together, both in life and at work. And it’s been fantastic.

What’s the rationale for working at the same company?

Chad Aronson, Global Head of Intelligent Automation, Uber.

Chad: The co-op program at UC actually helped us all work for the same company at one period, because we were all co-ops at GE. After college, Lee and I took jobs at GE, so we moved to Connecticut together from Ohio. After a couple years, Lee decided to move to Blue Shield California. I always said, if there’s a good opportunity, then I would uproot my life and come to California. And sure enough, something opened up. And Neil came out years later.

Neil: It’s almost like it’s meant to be. It’s been the right time, the right role, the right intersection of our careers. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Chad at Uber; we overlapped for six and a half years. It was an amazing experience. I’m at Coinbase now and I’m loving that job, but I do miss working closely with Chad.

How did co-ops shape your respective career trajectories, and what advice would you give to current students about making the most out of their co-op experiences?

Lee Aronson, Senior Director, Health Solutions Portfolio Planning & Implementation, Blue Shield of California.

Lee: We chose the University of Cincinnati for two reasons. It was close to home, and co-op. It was a great opportunity for us to get real-life experience. The other thing is I’d recommend getting as much experience as you can — you don’t necessarily need to stay in the same company. You can do one, two, potentially three companies and get well-rounded, different experiences.

Neil: The co-op program was paramount to our success. It’s critical to get real-life experience in a business environment and context before you start working full-time as an employee.

Chad: It was invaluable to me. I can’t stress enough how much the co-op program has made my life.

Lee: Co-op taught all of us grit. To Chad’s point, at an early age you’re learning to compete.

What specific skills do you think most students often overlook, but really need? Not just for co-ops, but for full-time positions.

Neil Aronson, Senior Director, Global Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Risk Management, Coinbase.

Lee: It’s all about collaboration and teamwork. The ability to have EQ (emotional quotient). There’s a lot of smart people out there, but there’s a lot of smart people out there that can’t work well with people.

Neil: If you can’t communicate — both written and verbal — then it’s going to be tough to succeed, even if you are very technical. As business evolves with automation and AI, it’s critical to be able to have conversations and be able to present whatever it is you’re working on. Telling that story is critical to long-term success as you elevate in your career.

In what ways do you like to give back to Lindner and UC?

Neil: Recruit from UC for open positions that we have, whether it’s a summer intern or a full-time job. I think the biggest way we can give back is to offer opportunities.

Chad: There are individuals that reach out to me on LinkedIn for career advice or to just have a conversation — I tend to have those conversations [with UC people].

What’s one thing that people always get wrong about being a triplet?

Lee: That we feel each other’s pain.

Neil: We do not.

Lee: We can tell when someone’s mad, but we can’t feel their pain [all laugh].

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Featured image: The Aronson triplets take a selfie. Photos provided.

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