We help companies become a destination for neurodivergent talent.

auticon is an award-winning social innovation company

As an autistic-majority company, we’re a resource for talent. We integrate our technology consultants into client organizations, performing as software developers, data analysts, QA engineers, and more. Client teams work with our outstanding autistic professionals first-hand, opening minds and effecting culture change.

Our model supports the autistic community by helping build quality careers, unlocking opportunities, and empowering client organizations through actionable neurodiversity training and advisory services. Our employees build lifelong careers in technology, discover personal autonomy, and improved self-esteem.

Through auticon Labs, we utilize an entrepreneurial mindset to develop commercial technology solutions for social and environmental challenges faced by autistic professionals, helping them succeed in the workplace.

Changing lives together

We believe affecting change in one life is the starting point for changing society. We therefore measure our social performance through the difference auticon makes to the lives of our autistic colleagues, the impact on our customer organizations, and the role we play in creating awareness of neurodiversity in society.

Between 15-20% of the global population are neurodivergent. 2% are estimated to be autistic. Despite many autistic people being talented, qualified and keen to work, only 29% of autistic people are in full time work. Within the autistic workforce, a vast majority are under-employed, working in jobs that they are over-qualified or over-skilled for.

Work at auticon

Feel they can be their authentic self at work 77%

Feel valued for who they are at auticon 84%

Improved wellbeing 78%

Feel more confident 74%

Our vision and purpose

To build a more inclusive world.

Our mission

Address the inequalities in employment for neurodivergent adults and showcase the strengths of neurodiversity in society.

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Our values

Our values pervade our daily operations and our relationships internally and to the outside world. They act as rules of conduct and characterise how we do business.

Inclusive: We are changing the world for and with the neurodivergent, with the spirit ‘nothing about us, without us’. We challenge ourselves to raise the bar on inclusion in everything we do.
Human-focused: We operate with a human focus to create an improved quality of life for our employees. We prize individual differences and put people first.
Inspiring: We strive to be inspiring for our customers, employees, stakeholders and the society in what we do and how we make it happen.
Solution-oriented: We are flexible and solution-oriented, open to new ideas and never afraid to try them.
Value creating: We create social and economic value through operating a commercially sustainable business with a strong social mission.

Autism is not a processing error,
it's a different operating system.

Want to know how we can transform your business through neurodiversity?

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Global Leadership Team

Garth Johnson

Chief Executive Officer

Garth Johnson co-founded Canada’s first enterprise to deploy abilities of autistic individuals as technology consultants, Meticulon, in 2013. He became CEO of auticon Canada in 2019 after the acquisition of Meticulon’s technology consulting business by auticon GMBH. Garth has over 25 years’ experience supporting the growth of successful technology companies. Prior to starting Meticulon, Garth served as VP of Business and Community Development for iStockphoto, and President of Fotolia (Adobe Stock) North America before helping to bring both companies to successful exits.

Garth brings his professional passion for building sustainable, disruptive businesses to drive auticon Canada’s mission to create long-term, successful technology careers for autistic Canadians. Garth also serves as Vice President on the Board of the Canadian Association for Supported Employment (CASE) and serves as Past Board Chair of Between Friends.

Ali Dussault (She/Her)

Director, Employment and Recruitment

Ali has been supporting the autistic community in home, academic, and employment settings for over 20 years. Prior to joining auticon, she served as Clinical Director at the Gold Centre and Manager of Services and Programs at ISAND. 

Beth Goswell (She/Her)

Employment Coordinator

Beth brings over 17 years professional experience working in and supporting the autistic community. Beth has worked with autistic individuals within the school system and community settings and brings a varied background to the company having trained as a nurse and midwife.

Jean-Julien Guyot

Employment Coordinator

Prior to joining auticon, Jean-Julien worked for 20 years as a marketing strategist holding management positions in large Canadian and international companies. Diagnosed with Asperger’s as an adult, Jean-Julien’s lived experience informs his coaching approach and enables him to understand challenges autistic individuals may encounter in the workplace.

Tonie Minhas (She/Her)

Employment Coordinator

Tonie brings 10 years of experience from the public and private sectors where she worked with both businesses and historically marginalized communities to develop and implement inclusive and trauma-informed workplace solutions. Tonie’s background in adult education, as well as her lived experience as a neurodivergent and racialized woman, drive her passion for inclusion.

Kim Neale

Employment Coordinator

Kim brings diverse professional experience working with private, public, and non-profit organizations. As an operational leader for 14 years and an entrepreneur in assistive technology for 6 years, she has been at the forefront of driving efficiency and innovation. With a decade-long focus on autism inclusion and supportive employment, she champions neurodiversity in the workplace.

Elizabeth George (She/Her)

Technical Director

Elizabeth brings over 10 years’ experience working in the IT industry and academia leading technical skill assessments, training, upskilling, and professional development of our employees. Prior to auticon, Elizabeth headed advanced computing training and employment activities at C-DAC and was a faculty member at the University of Mumbai.

Pauline Minkoue

Program Manager, Neuroinclusion Services

Pauline has over 15 years’ experience working with businesses redefining approaches to customer and people experiences, creating innovative programs, and leveraging agile and scrum development techniques. Prior to joining auticon, Pauline founded Cherish, a digital innovative lab based in France, and held management positions at IBM, Capgemini, Thomas Cook, and more.

Nikki Gore

Director, Marketing and Business Development

Nikki is a global marketing leader with over 25 years’ experience building high-performance business development and marketing teams for B2B technology companies. Prior to auticon, Nikki founded Siren Marketing, a strategic marketing consulting firm, and held senior roles at Baan Company, Microsoft, Critical Path, QuickPlay Media, InfoBright, and more.

Rachel Oldring

Director, Finance

Rachel is a finance professional with over a decade of senior leadership experience. Her ability to provide financial clarity facilitates impactful business strategies. Rachel is the Practice Lead of Oldring Professional Corporation, an integrated business solutions firm. Prior to this and before joining auticon, Rachel worked with PwC, Husky and Tournigan Energy.

International investors

"Businesses like auticon are true trailblazers!" - Sir Richard Branson

Investors include Ferd, Autism Impact Fund, Ananda Impact Ventures, KOIS, Felix Porsche, Sir Richard Branson, Ferst Capital Partners, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Our story

auticon was founded in Berlin in 2011 by a father wanting better employment opportunities for his autistic son. Autistic professionals were employed as quality assurance consultants, debugging websites and applications. As Managing Director of a small investment firm, Kurt Schöffer was approached by Ananda Social Venture Fund, who invited him to partner in creating Germany’s first social impact fund. The fund’s first investment was in auticon, where Kurt served as an advisor on the fund’s behalf. For Kurt, this was an opportunity to apply his business acumen to solve the social issue of rising unemployment among autistic adults, who often possess STEM skills applicable in a range of technology careers. After three months as an advisor, Kurt accepted a role as auticon’s Group CEO, later developing its six German office locations and expanding into Paris and London. The company added major clients such as BMW, Allianz, and new technology consulting services.

In 2016, Sir Richard Branson’s investment brought international attention to the company as it expanded into Italy and Switzerland. In 2018, auticon acquired two North American autism employers: MindSpark in Los Angeles and Meticulon in Calgary, later adding clients such as Salesforce and Deloitte, and surpassing 200+ autistic employees globally. In 2019, auticon opened in Australia with one of the island’s largest employers.

In 2023, auticon and Unicus entered an agreement under which the two companies would unite. The historic deal established a global model for an autistic-majority social enterprise and ESG company, addressing the inequalities in employment for neurodivergent adults. The two combined companies became the largest autistic-majority company in the world, with 81% of its 600 employees on the autism spectrum across 15 countries.

Land Acknowledgement

auticon Canada recognizes the unique relationship between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories across Turtle Island. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, we wish to acknowledge the traditional lands we operate on, now known as Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, and the stewards of these lands since time immemorial.

We honour and acknowledge Moh’kinsstis, the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations, and the Metis Nation (Region 3).

We also acknowledge the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, the Wendat peoples, and the traditional territories covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties.

Tiohtià:ke is the historic gathering place for many First Nations. We honour the historic and ongoing stewardship of these unceded territories by the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation.

We also recognize and respect the cultural diversity that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people bring to all our cities and across Canada. We acknowledge that we are all treaty people and accept responsibility to honour all our relations.