From Answers to Action
About Us
Our journey began with a belief that being right was enough. What we discovered changed not only our company, but how we think about data itself.
The Delusion
We started with a wrong premise. We thought being right would be enough.
Before founding Darkhorse, we spent a decade running a university research lab. We built predictive models that could estimate an ambulance drive-time to the second. We published papers. We even taught undergrads to love regression analysis. Our currency was precision and publication.
We founded Darkhorse because we wanted impact beyond the academy—and because we craved variety. We'd work on anything analytical: predicting hockey trades one day, optimizing emergency response the next, healthcare outcomes the week after. We were analytics mercenaries with good intentions.
Then reality hit. City managers put fire stations on land their brothers owned. NHL general managers traded away their best defenseman for players who couldn't skate. Hospital administrators ignored our models because "we've always done it this way."
We comforted ourselves with an old adage: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
We thought being right would be enough.
The Epiphany
Nearly a decade into our journey, we began to tire of handing off reports destined to collect dust. Our idealistic belief that "the truth shall prevail" was ringing hollow. Telling ourselves we'd done our part was cold comfort when nothing actually changed.
We finally asked the question: What if our responsibility didn't end with the right answer, but when someone acted on it?
Everything changed. We built transparent models. We sat with decision-makers before touching data. We put as much craft into the story as the statistics.
Getting the right answer is half the battle. Convincing someone to act on it is the other half.
We didn't abandon rigor or compromise truth. We just owned what happened after the analysis. This shift was so fundamental that we began leaving the analysis to others, focusing entirely on making findings matter.
We eventually changed our name to Darkhorse Visualization to reflect our new priorities.
Getting the right answer is half the battle.
Convincing someone to act on it is the other half.
Darkhorse Values
Behind every great organization is a set of common beliefs and a consistent view of what’s important. Our values reflect who we are now, not how we hope to be perceived.
Trust first
We choose to extend trust before it’s earned. We value transparency and openness and we give our employees great autonomy.
Own It
We share our expertise
Our expertise flourishes because we share it freely. We are a greenhouse, accelerating growth for clients and colleagues alike.
Clarity
We make the complex clear and succinct.
Is there a better way?
Sometimes a best practice is only a good practice. We’re continually looking for ways to improve our work and our workplace.
Take the long view
We look at every decision through a long-term lens. Our relationships with employees and clients are sustainable through time.
“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Will Durant
The Story of Philosophy (1926), summarizing Aristotle
Our Team
Our team blends design, data, and curiosity to turn complexity into clarity — and help organizations make better decisions.
Daniel Haight
President
Daniel Haight is the President and co-founder of Darkhorse Analytics. He is a Certified Analytics Professional and an award-winning lecturer at the University of Alberta School of Business.
His work has spanned healthcare, energy, marketing, professional sports, and transportation. He started his career at Mercer Management Consulting in Toronto advising senior management and jet-setting around the continent. Subsequently, he nearly made millions of dollars in a small Internet startup. Instead, he enjoyed the magnificent failure of the dotcom bust.
Along the way, he started a used car dealership, purchased a second-hand trampoline for fifteen dollars, recorded a rock video, and fathered three children. His current work focuses on predictive analytics and data visualization. His goal is to help managers make better decisions by combining their experience with the power of analytics. His even bigger goal is to design a company where Monday mornings are even more exciting than Friday afternoons.
Craig Hiltz
Vice President
Craig leads business development and client engagement for Darkhorse Analytics. He has over 25 years of analytics, research, and leadership experience. Craig believes in the long lost art of listening to truly understand client dreams and fuel solutions that generate organization-wide impact. He is client focused and impact oriented.
Shawn Halvorson
Director of Operations
Shawn Halvorson is the Director of Operations at Darkhorse Visualization, a huge data nerd, and a next-level Excel ninja feared by unruly pivot tables everywhere. Employee #1, he joined in the early days and has spent over a decade helping build Darkhorse from scrappy startup to trusted partner, delivering clear, compelling analytics for dozens of clients across industries.
Before steering the ship, Shawn spent many years in project management. That PM streak now powers his operations leadership: crisp processes, calm execution, and products that arrive as promised and look better than they have any right to.
Along the way, he has shipped dashboards that triggered spontaneous applause and once formatted a workbook so elegantly it was mistaken for modern art. Off the clock, he maintains a board-game collection requiring its own shelving strategy.
Shawn is passionate about delivering an excellent product and proving that data doesn’t have to be boring, just organized
Mitch Wong
Director of Engineering
Mitchell has over a decade of experience building data visualizations, leading a talented team at Darkhorse Visualization to turn complex data into clear, impactful insights. He combines technical expertise with a collaborative approach, mentoring his team and guiding projects from concept to delivery to create tools that are both powerful and intuitive.
Chantelle Bryce
Finance
Chantelle oversees finance and accounting at Darkhorse Analytics. She has a passion for using financial data to connect past and future performance, and to drive strategic decision-making and analysis. Her Chartered Professional Accountant designation, and background in both audit and technology start-ups, have shaped her client-first focus and drive toward continuous improvement.
Outside of work, you can catch her researching her next travel destination or spending time at her family’s lake cabin.
And our other experts behind the success…
WANT TO JOIN US?
Join a team where clarity, design, and data come together to make real impact.