Hans Hedin has a strong track record in the area of Market / Competitive Intelligence consulting. He spends most of his time advising companies on setting up and further developing their corporate intelligence programs, while being a recognized speaker and workshop leader in the field of strategic Market Intelligence. He runs Market Intelligence (MI) Programs, Scenario Analysis workshops and Intelligence Analysis training & coaching at Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA). Mr. Hedin joined GIA in 2003, having previously worked in the consulting and banking industries and in the public sector.

See Han's interview with bidigital (in Swedish).

Irmeli Hirvensalo joined GIA in 2001 as an Analyst and has more recently held the positions of Senior Consultant, Director, Strategic Marketing and Director, Human Resources in the company. She has presented and lectured about Market Intelligence topics to both companies and academic students. From early on, Hirvensalo has been part of the team producing the GIA White Paper series that is very much at the core of the company’s consultative approach to MI. She is also a co-author of the book "Market Information in the Internationalization of Companies", published by the Finnish Institute for International Trade (FINTRA) in 2005. Hirvensalo earned her Master’s degree (Financial Economics) in 2000 from the Helsinki School of Economics.

Markko Vaarnas is the CEO and co-founder of GIA Group, founded in 1995, and has been responsible for the general management and international business development of the group since the beginning. He has steered the development of the company from the ground up to an organization with offices around the world. Vaarnas is a frequent presenter at international seminars and training events, while also leading consulting projects in Europe, USA and Asia. He is a co-author of the book "Market Information in the Internationalization of Companies", first published by the Finnish Institute for International Trade (FINTRA) in 2005. Prior to co-founding GIA Group, Vaarnas was an academic researcher in the field of Market Intelligence and earned his Master's degree (International Business) from the Helsinki School of Economics in 1998.