Leadership Team
With a shared commitment to innovation, integrity, and client satisfaction, the Verde Group executive team brings a unique blend of expertise and vision to the table. Together, we are passionate about transforming customer experiences and driving sustainable growth for our clients.
Paula Courtney
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
A passionate change agent and entrepreneur, she believes that organizations remain competitive and profitable when they are brilliant at the basics of service delivery. As President of the Verde Group, a global market research consultancy specializing in helping companies improve customer retention, Paula leads the development of new research methods for helping companies quantify the financial impact of their customer experience. The Verde Group’s Canadian and US retail studies have been published globally in over 35 publications including Business Week, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. A frequent conference presenter, Paula has delivered keynote presentations for various industry and professional associations. Paula holds a BSc in Psychology and a post graduate certification in Personnel & Industrial Relations (CPIR) from the University of Toronto. Paula is also fluent in French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Jon Skinner
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Jon has more than 20 years’ experience in helping clients and organizations raise customer value through improved customer insight, relevance, satisfaction and operational excellence. Spanning both B2B and consumer categories, he has consulted to market leading companies across the Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Medical, Telecommunications, Software and Consumer Package Goods verticals designing and implementing programs to grow customer value.
Dennis Armbruster
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Dennis has over 25 years of knowledge in customer experience & loyalty strategy. He specializes in helping organizations improve market share and brand engagement by identifying and prioritizing opportunities and bridging the gap between strategic insights and the operational realities of change. His experience spans a number of Verde Group key verticals including partnering with brands such as: T-Mobile, AT&T, US Cellular, The Home Depot, Walgreen’s, Target, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Canadian Tire, A&F, Alaska Airlines, Hertz, Delta Airlines and more.
Gord Ripley
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
An experienced executive manager in the loyalty research and analytics space, Gord has over two decades of experience managing the operational complexities of enterprise-wide customer experience programs for North America’s largest organizations. Adept at optimizing existing processes and developing new ones that deliver greater client efficiencies and new sources of client value, Gord oversees all operations at Verde Group.
Sandie Parker
VICE PRESIDENT
Sandie specializes in consulting with clients in the areas of customer experience and loyalty assessment, sales force research and strategy, measurement and reporting. Her expertise encompasses both qualitative and quantitative research and facilitation of strategic action planning. Sandie has extensive background in the financial services industry including retail brokerage, wealth management and financial planning, investments and securities, insurance, commercial and investment banking, and contact centers.
Christine Young
VICE PRESIDENT
Christine has over 20 years’ experience in the market research industry and specializes in program development and consulting with clients in the area of customer experience and loyalty. Christine works with the client to build, measure and optimize their customer experience programs, with a focus on operational excellence and consistent delivery of high-quality CEM programs.
