Aurora WDC was founded in 1995 by Arik Johnson with a vision of establishing the preeminent intelligence firm serving corporate clients anywhere in the world. That same mission holds true today.

Derek Johnson joined the firm in 2003 to manage the daily operations and specifically oversee the growth objectives of the Research business, which today represents a majority of the firm's revenue. We consider ourselves privledged to work with the most demanding and sophisticated clients in the world and look forward to each new challenge they bring us.

While we understand our strengths, we are even more aware of our weaknesses so Aurora also builds relationships with complimentary partners all over the world in research, training, software and analytics that give the firm unmatched reach and flexibility.

Finally, in our drive to meet our ongoing business objectives, we focus on the following priorities and core values:

1. Build trusted partnerships with our clients, from Fortune 100 corporations to emerging companies working to grow their market presence. Both Aurora and our clients endeavor to build a mutually beneficial, long-term intelligence partnership.
2. Grow our capabilities to meet or exceed satisfaction in the intelligence requirements of every client engagement.
3. Never sacrifice ethics and integrity for short-term gain. Uncompromising ethical standards, unparalelled professional service capabilities and unwavering business discipline allow us to walk away occasionally from opportunities that do not represent a good fit or might ignore sound ethical boundaries.
4. Elevate the care and respect with which our people, clients and industry partners work together toward a common objective of excellence, performance and passion in everything we do.
5. Always challenge ourselves and enjoy the relentless pursuit of exceeding our clients’ expectations.

Meet the Principles

Arik Johnson Chief Executive Officer Managing Director Arik Johnson founded Aurora WDC in 1995 and today serves as Chairman, CEO and Managing Director of Aurora’s consulting business, where he works with organizations of all kinds to develop their intelligence apparatus to anticipate, monitor, detect and interpret change in their business environment. Arik is a Fellow of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and has chaired SCIP’s annual international conference in 2006, served on SCIP’s board of directors from 2004 through 2006, won SCIP’s Catalyst award in 2005, and earlier served as a chapter coordinator and most recently as a trustee and development committee chair of the CI Foundation. He moderates the 1000-member Competitive Intelligence community at www.CI2020.com is a frequent writer, speaker and facilitator at intelligence events throughout the world.

Derek Johnson, CFA Chief Operating Officer Director of Research Derek Johnson joined Aurora in early 2003 and serves as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research, based in Madison, WI. He is responsible for oversight of all client research and analysis engagements in terms of overall quality control and calendar-based project management, as well as guiding many of the firm’s operations. Derek’s academic achievements include an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a BBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. He serves as Wisconsin’s SCIP chapter co-chair, was Program Chair of the 2009 SCIP International Conference, and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).