Business Strategist, Founder & SaaS / Agentic AI Pioneer
Barry Hillier is a strategist, storyteller, and technologist whose career has been defined by building what's next—from award-winning brand platforms to inclusive economic systems and now leading in agentic AI. Barry brings a rare combination of creative insight, community empowerment expertise, and operational depth that few others possess.
He began crafting emotionally resonant brand stories that moved markets, then evolved to designing inclusive systems that scale economic opportunity across communities, regions, and generations. Today, he's pioneering dual fronts: agentic AI systems that amplify human performance and economic empowerment models that unlock potential for all.
With over 25 years of experience, eight ventures launched, and global recognition for both creative, economic and social impact, Barry's work consistently bridges brand and system, story and scale, innovation and economic empowerment.
Barry's career began in the world's top agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, and Operex, where he crafted strategy for powerhouse brands: Toyota, Nissan, AXE Body Spray, Hellmann's, Vaseline, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Skittles, Juicy Fruit, Milk, ING Direct, 3M, H&R Block, and Indigo.
Recognizing the need to scale both brand execution and economic opportunity through technology, Barry shifted from agency to entrepreneur — founding platforms that operationalize strategy through intelligent, inclusive infrastructure:
• GloveboxCMS – CMS for automotive networks enabling real-time content delivery at scale
• Bumper – Customer engagement platform unifying data into actionable insight
• RevUps – MarTech platform for integrated asset development across distributed teams
• eQuo – Canada's first inclusive marketplace serving Indigenous, BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and women entrepreneurs
Today, Barry co-founded Auto Agentic, reshaping how dealerships and OEMs operate through agentic AI systems: trained digital team members that embed into workflows, act with intention, and evolve alongside business.
At Auto Agentic, the belief is simple: the future belongs to those who combine emotional intelligence and human creativity with AI power. This is why they're building the most human AI company in automotive—one that enhances empathy, unlocks potential, and redefines success.
Barry Hillier transforms business strategy into real-world solutions—aligning corporate goals with community impact, and harnessing AI innovation to unlock human potential.
Marketing DNA + Tech Innovation + Founder Experience
Beyond Awards: The Art & Science of Building Lasting Companies
The 50+ awards on my shelves—for design excellence, innovation, and business impact—taught me a counterintuitive truth: accolades don't build enduring companies. They merely mark milestones on a longer journey.
What truly drives business longevity is what I call Brand DNA—the seamless fusion of compelling narrative, forward-looking vision, and pragmatic business fundamentals. This is where creativity meets commerce in perfect balance.
My eight ventures revealed this truth from different angles—sometimes painfully. Dashboard showed how creative storytelling drives growth. Bumper and GloveboxCMS demonstrated that technology must solve real problems to matter. Neighbourhood Coffee and Kebaonish proved authentic values create customer loyalty beyond any marketing campaign.
These weren't theoretical exercises but real businesses with payrolls to meet, investors to satisfy, and markets to conquer. The hard-won insights from building, scaling, and occasionally stumbling with these ventures form the cornerstone of my approach to business transformation.
My Clients
Big and Small, I've been lucky to work with the greatest brands and people. Let's talk.
Ventures Founded & Brands Transformed
These logos represent more than corporate emblems—they're milestones marking a three-decade entrepreneurial journey. Each captures a distinct chapter in my evolution from digital pioneer to AI innovator.
The companies I built—Dashboard, GloveboxCMS, Bumper, Auto Agentic—emerged from market gaps others missed. Each required not just vision but the tenacity to transform concepts into thriving businesses, navigate growth challenges, and create value that ultimately attracted strategic buyers.
Global leaders like Toyota, Unilever, Wrigley's, ING Direct, and 3M trusted me with their transformation when digital disruption threatened their established models. These partnerships revealed a crucial truth: even market leaders need fresh perspective to evolve and thrive amid technological upheaval.
The Perfect Customer Experience
“This is the space to share a review from one of the business's clients or customers.”
Poul Gingere
bennertik inc
“Use this space to share a testimonial quote about the business, its products or its services. Insert a quote from a real customer or client here to build trust and win over site visitors.”
Adam Barne
Eternet
“This is the space to share a review from one of the business's clients or customers.”
Zachi Bloom
Artomorrow
My portfolio spans seemingly unrelated sectors—from SaaS platforms to specialty coffee, from automotive retail to CPG. Yet the principles for building sustainable growth remain consistent: identify genuine market needs, create compelling value propositions, build scalable operations, and assemble extraordinary teams.
Each logo represents a real-world business laboratory. Some strategies flourished, generating outsized returns. Others failed, delivering painful but invaluable lessons about market timing, execution priorities, and the human elements that ultimately determine success.
The true value of this collection isn't its breadth or prestigious names—it's the depth of hands-on experience navigating the exact challenges leaders face today: digital transformation, market disruption, talent acquisition, and sustainable growth.
These aren't static credentials but living experiences that continuously inform how I help organizations navigate today's business landscape—especially as AI creates both existential threats and unprecedented opportunities for companies ready to evolve.
Weathering the Dot-Com Era, Building the SaaS Revolution, Leading the AI Future
I forged my digital instincts in the chaotic frontier of the dot-com boom—when strategy meant venturing into uncharted territory with only curiosity as a guide. These early lessons in digital resilience proved invaluable through every technological revolution that followed.
Dashboard emerged from this crucible, growing from scrappy startup into one of Canada's most respected digital agencies. We didn't just create campaigns; we architected transformations for Hellmann's, Axe, and ING Direct. Our work for Toyota, 3M, Kraft, and H&R Block proved that digital excellence isn't about flashy interfaces but about solving real business problems that drive measurable growth.
As markets evolved, I spotted patterns that led to building three distinct SaaS platforms—each addressing critical industry gaps. Glovebox reinvented content management when existing systems fell short. Bumper revolutionized how automotive dealers leveraged customer data. RevUps transformed how marketing teams measured campaign performance. Each platform represented strategic solutions to market inefficiencies, not just code.
My journey took an unexpected turn into specialty beverages—a passion that became reality after working with Mother Parkers, Unilever and Kraft. Co-founding Neighbourhood Coffee and Kebaonish Coffee and Tea allowed me to apply digital principles to traditional consumer products. Meanwhile, eQuo became the vehicle for helping emerging food brands scale using the same frameworks that built my tech ventures.
Today, as co-founder of Auto Agentic, I'm applying AI to solve substantive business challenges. Through dot-com crashes, cloud computing revolutions, and the AI renaissance, I've maintained one truth: technology only matters when it makes businesses work better. Everything else is just digital noise.
I'm thrilled to produce the Auto Intelligence podcast three times a week, where I explore the intersection of AI, mobility, automotive innovation, and the future of transportation. From EV policy shifts and dealership transformation to the rise of Chinese automakers and the cultural impact of autonomous vehicles, I dive into the stories shaping the industry. I'm passionate about these topics because they represent more than just technology—they reflect the changing fabric of how we move, connect, and build the future.
My Clients
Big and Small, I've been lucky to work with the greatest brands and people. Let's talk.
Current Mission: Leading Auto Agentic's AI Revolution in Automotive Retail
Auto Agentic delivers what dealerships truly need—not theoretical AI, but tangible operational advantages. As co-founder, I've woven 25 years of automotive tech experience into creating collaborative AI agents that function as virtual team members, not merely tools.
Our platform addresses the specific pain points dealers face daily: inventory optimization, inconsistent customer follow-up, fragmented marketing messages, and HR workflow bottlenecks. We've created AI agents that augment existing staff—a virtual Sales Manager analyzing performance patterns, a Budget Analyst identifying profit leaks, and a Data Specialist transforming customer information into actionable insights.
Unlike generic AI solutions, Auto Agentic was built from the showroom floor up. Every algorithm, interface, and automation reflects real-world dealership operations—because we've spent decades immersed in the automotive retail ecosystem from inventory management to F&I offices.
This venture embodies my core belief: transformative technology must first solve practical problems with measurable ROI. It's not about AI for technology's sake—it's about creating intelligence that drives business performance for an industry ready for its next evolution.
