Southlake-based executive David Aspinall has been named chief executive officer of auticon, an international IT service provider that employs adults on the autism spectrum as technology consultants.

Aspinall brings an extensive leadership background to his new role at auticon. His prior experience includes working as an executive at Dallas-headquartered AT&T, where he spent almost 12 years. There, his tenure included leading the telecommunication giant’s Canadian operations.

Aspinall also served as regional president, South for Sprint in Texas, where he led the growth of Sprint’s Enterprise business across 10 states. More recently, he worked as an operating executive with various private equity firms focusing on scaling businesses and revenue growth.

Aspinall will lead the company’s U.S. operations from Dallas-Fort Worth and told Dallas Innovates that he plans to make North Texas the next location for auticon to expand to.

“We absolutely, 100 percent will be bringing our services to North Texas,” Aspinall says. “Texas is next.”

Auticon is currently expanding to four cities

Aspinall’s hiring comes at a time when auticon is ramping up a North American expansion with new locations in Los Angeles, Toronto, Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City.

While no timetable has been set for a North Texas expansion, Aspinall says, “One-third of my calendar is ‘How do we hit Texas next?'”

Aspinall notes he plans to be a visible member of the North Texas startup and social good sector.

“I’m going to be incredibly active in the community,” he says.

Doing social good while making money

Auticon is a global social benefit company, but not a nonprofit. Aspinall says auticon can be an important player for social good in North Texas, while also being a for-profit company.

“We can be for profit and for good—those two things don’t need to be mutually exclusive,” he says. “We’re not a charity, we are a for-profit business and the more we make a profit, the more people on the spectrum we can employ.”

Auticon said that autistic adults experience high employment deficits, with research showing that 85 percent are unemployed or under-employed within the mainstream labor market.

And, he said that auticon, which employs 200 adults on the autism spectrum, is well prepared to operate during these uncertain times of the COVID-19 crisis. “We’re well-versed in using software packages to make sure people are in the right place and at the right time,” he said.

He’s spent time since he joined auticon making his operations from home functional to ensure he has lot of support from those outside of Dallas-Fort Worth.

“The organization is teaching me a little, it’s very well versed in working remotely,” he says.

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