Leadership Changes at Canada's Dig Insights

Three of the four founders of Canada-based consumer researcher Dig Insights are to step back from their day-to-day roles with the business, while a number of long-term employees have new, more senior roles supporting the fourth co-founder, CEO Paul Gaudette, in taking the business forward.

Dig, in which private equity firm Beringer Capital acquired a majority stake in 2022, helps clients with brand and innovation challenges, whether by identifying trends, building and forecasting the performance of innovations, or tracking opportunities in-market. The firm has more than 250 staff in offices in Toronto, Chicago and London, and has recently acquired San Francisco-based qual agency Ignite 360 and Austin, Texas-based strategy and innovation advisor Ebco Trends. Its proprietary innovation insights platform, Upsiide, features mobile-first approaches to engaging respondents, as well as researcher-first analysis and dashboard capabilities.

Co-founders Dominic Atkinson, Michael Edwards and Ian Ash will continue to act as consultants to the business, while keeping their ownership stakes. Gaudette comments: 'After building and growing Dig together for fifteen years, the time has come for Dominic, Michael and Ian to step back from the day-to-day. This moment has been part of the plan for a while, but that doesn't make it any easier... While they'll always be the founders of Dig, they are stepping back with confidence knowing they've built a team that's ready to carry their legacy forward and continue pushing the boundaries of what this company can do.'

Gaudette (pictured) says the change is also 'an opportunity for us to elevate our internal talent'. EVP and twelve-year company employee Marcie Connan will now lead research excellence for the organization, while EVP Kevin Hare is promoted to lead client growth and global adoption of Upsiide, after nine years at the firm. In addition, four consulting VPs - Kathleen Coll, Razvan Rosu, Lesley Sloggett and Julien Naggar - are being promoted to SVP, with each leading their own consulting team.'

Web site: www.diginsights.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.