Cuell has more than 20 years' market research and consultancy experience and joins from customer loyalty research specialists Network Research.
He joined Network in 2008 as head of consultancy and board director, after eight years as a senior consultant at CFI (Claes Fornell International).
He was recognised by the MRS for his work with BSkyB, winning the award for "Management Insights Effectiveness" in 2007.
When the mobile business now known as O2 was decoupling from BT, he guided it through the service quality improvements underpinning the brand relaunch and helped secure market leadership in the UK.
David Iddiols, senior partner at HPI, commented: "We're very pleased Mike is joining the team.
"His addition will be another key asset to our management team and will help us to continue to deliver exceptional insights for clients to enhance brand strategies."
Cuell said: "HPI is a highly regarded research consultancy -- I'm delighted to be joining the team. Their work for clients like Abbey, NSPCC, Vodafone and Thornton's is very strong and influential."