Kristen Hirst
Senior Vice President

Kristen Hirst is the Senior Vice President for The North of England Inward Investment Agency, UK Government sponsored business organization which supports companies from North American who seek to expand into the UK's largest region.

Kristen is based in Atlanta where she overseas the Agency's operations throughout North America. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Agency specializes in working directly with companies to support their efforts to go global, which can include advising on tax, legal and financial support, establishing R&D partnerships and assistance with recruitment and training. Kristen has full oversight of the Agency's marketing program.

Kristen Hirst more than 11 years of project management experience working with both Fortune 500 and smaller companies seeking to establish themselves in the UK. Particular areas of expertise are ICT, Wind Energy, Life Sciences, Financial Services and Advanced Engineering.

Prior to assuming her role as Sr VP, Kristen spent 6 years as Vice President Business Development for the South East US region and began by opening the Agency's Atlanta office in 1999. Before returning to her native Atlanta she spent 5 years in the Leeds, UK office managing the North America team, developing a trans-Atlantic marketing program and overseeing the project teams throughout the Yorkshire region.

Kristen holds and ABJ degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia and holds an Executive Education Certificate from Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

Ian Stewart
Vice President Business Development, North of England Inward Investment Agency (NEIIA)

Ian is Vice President of Business Development based in Atlanta with responsibility for the Southeast USA region. In this capacity Ian's primary role is to facilitate foreign direct investment from the region's "knowledge based" companies into the North West and North East of England. In this role Ian works alongside a wide range of companies from the likes of the IT, Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, and Business & Financial service sectors in support of their European market entry and/or growth strategy.

Ian joined the NEIIA in August 2006 following a career focussed on international trade and investment activities in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the NEIIA Ian spent 5 years working at the British Consulate in Atlanta for UK Trade & Investment, the UK government's national economic and business development body, with a focus on growing UK-US bi-lateral trade and investment. Ian's private sector experience includes 9 years in the commercial aerospace industry, where Ian was focussed on North American business growth for a UK based aerospace manufacturer.

Ian obtained a degree in Business Studies and Marketing from Leicester DeMontford University (UK) and received his MBA from Georgia State University.