Niel Hiscox is Co-Founder and CEO of Clarify Group Inc., an automotive market research and advisory firm headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Niel leads the overall direction for Clarify Group, and is spearheading the launch of Clarify Group America LLC to fully support the company’s growth into the United States.

Prior to the launch of Clarify, Niel launched and continues to lead Universus Media Group Inc., an automotive marketing communications firm serving leading OEMs, industry associations and automotive industry suppliers. Alongside its agency activities, Universus is the publisher of Canadian auto dealer magazine and Affaires automobiles magazine, Canada’s leading print and digital media channels for new car dealers.

Niel is a past and founding member of KPMG’s Digital Strategies practice, a research and consulting practice developing internet strategy and go-to-market tactics for a range of international businesses.

As a recognized expert in the changes facing the automotive industry, Niel is a frequent speaker at industry events, including Reuter’s Automotive USA in Detroit, Cliff Bank’s Autovate event in Arizona, CADA’s Annual Summit, as well as events put on by provincial dealer associations across the country.

Niel earned a DEC in Pure & Applied Science from John Abbott College, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, and an MBA from McGill University.

Darren Slind joined Clarify Group in 2021 as equity partner and Managing Director after a distinguished tenure leading global business units for J.D. Power. Most recently, Darren led the Company’s operations across South Asia, South East Asia and Oceania as Region President. He was responsible for client service and the delivery of voice-of-the-customer based insights and solutions that supported the growth and success of corporate clients in multiple industries across nine countries including India, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.

Prior to his assignment in Singapore, Darren led J.D. Power automotive operations in Canada and Latin America from 2011 to 2017 as Senior Director. He established the Mexico City and São Paulo offices and led these businesses to rapid growth. Darren joined J.D. Power Canada in 2000 as Director of the Performance Improvement Practice before assuming the role of Country Manager in 2009. Darren began his career at Xerox Canada Ltd. before joining Nissan Canada Inc. in sales and dealer operations for both the Nissan and Infiniti Brands.

Darren leads Clarify research, data analytics and consulting operations including the corporate office team in Markham, the national team of automotive retail excellence and hospitality experience coaches and the Company’s global network of strategic alliance partners. As a respected industry analyst, Darren is a frequent conference speaker and regular contributor to Canadian auto dealer and Affaires automobiles magazines on topics including customer experience and industry transformation.

Darren earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA with distinction from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He completed the Digital Business Strategy online executive program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management in 2020.

Dr. Gordon Shields has over 25 years experience in market research, analytics and customer experience, conducting research and advisory projects for clients across Europe, Indo-Pacific, South East Asia, GCC and North America.

Before establishing his own UK-based research agency in 2020, Angus MacBride, Gordon held several senior leadership roles at J.D. Power in Singapore and Europe from 2003 to 2020, most recently leading the agency’s research work on electric vehicle benchmarking, EV adoption and ownership experience. Angus MacBride Research Consultancy is a strategic partner of Clarify Group—the two companies frequently collaborate to deliver exceptional results to our clients.

Gordon’s focus is on supporting leading global brands on brand health, customer experience, product performance and quality improvement projects. In addition, he has managed a series of market entry studies from Australia to Thailand and is equally comfortable running competitor intelligence projects.

As a highly experienced international researcher, Gordon manages single and complex multi-market quantitative and qualitative studies, augmented (social media-based) research, as well as providing deep insights to clients via senior stakeholder workshops and ideation sessions.

Gordon has led Clarify research engagements for several Canadian clients including Genesis (in-depth dealer interviews and guest virtual focus groups), Volkswagen (in-depth dealer interviews, CX performance and strategy), Cox Automotive (brand health and CSAT benchmarking), Canadian International AutoShow (visitor experience study), Montréal International Auto Show (visitor experience study), Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance (visitor experience study) and AIA Canada (various projects).

Gordon received his doctorate from the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany in Political Science and completed postdoctoral work in statistical methods at Oxford.

Paula Pronesti is Clarify Group Inc.’s Director of Finance & Administration. In that capacity, Paula oversees the day to day administration of our business, including all aspects of Clarify’s accounting and finance.

Paula began her professional finance career in 2012 working for ERS International, a world wide recycling company with factories in three continents. Her love for numbers and solid grounding in accounting principles helped her grow through a series of increasing responsibilities and grow her impact on the organisation’s strategic and financial goals.

Paula joined Universus in 2017. Over the past seven years she has been a key player on the senior management team, contributing to the organisation’s overall strategic planning and decision-making process. Her strong communication skills have helped her lead her own team, while collaborating with other departments, clients and vendors.

At Clarify, Paula plays a critical role in managing the financial aspects of the organisation. She is responsible for overseeing financial planning, budgeting, reporting, and ensuring the organisation’s financial health.

Paula earned her Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University, and graduated from the Accounting Management program at Humber College.