Helena Herolf is appointed Chief People Officer at HiQ. Helena has solid experience in the consulting industry and HR and will be responsible for the strategic HR and People agenda at group level for the tech consultancy. “I’m happy that we appoint Helena for this role, which will support the organization and our regions. We need to develop in this area and need someone to take ownership of it. Helena has solid experience in HR and from working broadly with the People agenda in knowledge organizations. She is a great match with HiQ and an essential addition to our management. A large part of Helena's work will consist of helping HiQ on the continued successful journey, and we look forward to welcoming her to the team,” says Samuel Skott, CEO of HiQ.

Helena Herolf has a long career behind her both in the consulting industry and HR. She has a master’s degree from Stockholm School of Economics and most recently come from a role as VP & Head of Human Resources at Business Sweden, where she has been responsible for the global HR and People agenda. She has also worked at Accenture, where she started as a management consultant before stepping into the HR organization and a Nordic role as Human Capital & Diversity Lead. HiQ now appoints Helena Herolf as Chief People Officer. Her solid experience in HR, competence development, diversity work, corporate culture, and communication, together with previous experience in the consulting industry, is a perfect match for HiQ.

“HiQ has always been on my radar, and it will be exciting to come in and contribute with my expertise. It also feels great to have the opportunity to continue in the consulting industry in a pure tech company with such a high degree of innovation, creativity, and development. Recruitment and employer branding will be important areas as we advance, but also continue to develop and maintain the skills required for the continued growth journey of HiQ. So, that’s where a lot of my focus will be. I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone and becoming part of the team,” says Helena Herolf.

Helena Herolf will be responsible for the strategic HR and People agenda within the HiQ Group. She will support and enable HiQ’s continued growth journey with a significant focus on recruitment. In addition, she will take specific responsibility for operations in Sweden, working closely with the local teams on strategic matters. Helena will also focus on improvements, with a starting point in highlighting and scaling up best practices across regional and country borders, as well as oversee communication and marketing at group level.

“In a hardening market, where there is a demand for good competence in tech, we as a company must develop and challenge ourselves. Putting a lot of focus on our employees, the employee journey, and the culture is important, and we are happy that Helena can contribute to that. Our focus is, as always, to use tech to improve the world and make it simple, sustainable, and fun to live in,” says Samuel Skott, CEO at HiQ.

Helena Herolf starts October 17th 2022.

HiQ has been on an expansion journey lately, and today the tech-consultancy firm announces the next phase. The group is growing in the German market for the second time this year as the German subsidiary Scandio welcomes Munich-based agile consulting company anarcon to the team. "I’m pleased to welcome anarcon and the team to HiQ today! Their knowledge and experience will greatly contribute to our group, and they will strengthen our Atlassian segment significantly and expand our offer in agile consulting. We are growing fast in the German market, and together we will continue simplifying the world with tech,” says Samuel Skott, CEO of HiQ.

In April this year, HiQ announced that the group’s German digital transformation consultancy, Scandio, was acquiring part of Atlassian expert K15t. Today the next step on the journey is announced as Scandio acquires anarcon, an agile consulting company. The company combines knowledge and experience with the right tools to develop solutions for its clients. In addition, they follow their clients from operational innovation and idea to the recognizable effect on everyday business, aiming for joint success.

An agile consultant team with scrum masters and SAFe consultants and an Atlassian consulting team make up anarcon. The agile consulting team expands HiQ’s offer within the segment with the SAFe methodology and certifications from anarcon. Additionally, the Atlassian segment is strengthened and grown by the acquisition. Scandio and anarcon have worked closely together for many years on projects and sales, and the company cultures are a great match. HiQ, Scandio and anarcon are all value-based companies that put clients and employees first.

”I’m very excited that we are becoming a part of HiQ and Scandio! We have had a great relationship with Scandio since the start of anarcon, so it’s a perfect next step for us to take as a business. For us as a company and for our employees it’s a great opportunity to join a big group like HiQ. They will be able to receive more opportunities, the possibility for even greater assignments and get colleagues in more countries around Europe. Additionally, we see a perfect fit in terms of company culture; this was very important for us in the process. The company culture we have built during the years must be cared for. Thank you for the warm welcome, and we look forward to meeting our new colleagues very soon”, says Volker Heuer, Co-founder & CEO of anarcon.

Agile consulting company anarcon was founded in 2017, and is based in Munich, Germany. The company has about 40 employees and will, to begin with, continue to operate under its own name within Scandio. The acquisition grows the HiQ subsidiary to over 200 employees, with six locations all over Germany.

”We are one of the best employers in our segment in the German market today, and we are happy to welcome anarcon and the strong team they are. Our offer is sharper together with anarcon, and to expand our offer within agile consulting makes us even stronger,” says Christoph Köberle and Christian Koch, founders of Scandio.

In November 2021, HiQ acquired Karlskrona-based Cogitel and the IoT platform Thellio. The acquisition resulted in the tech consultancy growing to one of Karlskrona’s largest consulting companies regarding the number of employees. Now, the companies are moving in together in the city and opening up for many new job opportunities locally. “I am pleased that we are expanding in southern Sweden. We have offices in four cities within the region: Karlskrona, Malmö, Lund, and Helsingborg, and that we grow locally in all these cities is important. When we strengthen our presence in the Swedish market, we also strengthen our position to grow in northern Europe. In addition, we see a stable development and growth within IoT; Cogitel and Thellio have built up that offering within HiQ after the acquisition, which is great,” says Samuel Skott, CEO of HiQ.

In November 2021, the tech consultancy HiQ announced that it would expand in southern Sweden by acquiring Karlskrona-based Cogitel and the IoT platform Thellio. Cogitel’s deep knowledge of IoT and important clients and partners enable HiQ to broaden its offering in Blekinge. Thellio is a standalone IoT platform and a licensed software product. The platform performs tracking, monitors health and productivity and allows efficiency optimizations of your connected products, machines, and even connected spaces.

With the acquisition, HiQ becomes one of the largest consulting companies in Karlskrona in terms of the number of employees. As a next step, the existing HiQ office and Cogitel and Thellio are moving in together in Karlskrona, into Cogitel’s premises on Campus Gräsvik. This, in turn, enables many new job opportunities in the city and region, essential tech competence lacking in large parts of Sweden.

“Right now, we are just over 70 employees in Karlskrona. We could double that by 2026! We need to recruit and are looking for the best skill sets, and we believe we can find them in Karlskrona. The rest of Sweden is looking for competent IT staff. As HiQ is located across large parts of Sweden and northern Europe, we can offer our employees more opportunities for exciting and developing assignments. As an employer, we can recruit at a higher pace. At the same time, we can offer everyone who wants to work with cutting-edge tech, integration, design, and communication a good workplace,” says Åsa Melvanius, Head of Region South at HiQ.

After acquiring Cogitel, HiQ is an even stronger player in the region. As a student city with a strong business community, Karlskrona is a significant local market for HiQ. In addition, the company offers not only job opportunities but also a potential path into working life for students via HiQ Leap, the company’s trainee program launched in the spring of 2022. The program’s first start in Karlskrona is in the fall of 2022.

HiQ wins framework agreement with National Government Service Centre (Statens Servicecenter) for security audit IT. The contract period is a maximum of four years. “It’s great that we win this framework agreement. Cyber threats are a big part of today's digital society, and that organizations work preventively is important. HiQ can come in and support customers with this; our goal is not only to help when incidents occur but to prevent them from happening in the first place. We have a complete offering in tech, and cybersecurity is an important part of that offer,” says Samuel Skott, CEO of HiQ.

The procurement aims to ensure the National Government Service Centre’s needs regarding technical IT security review (penetration testing), IT security analysis of architecture and solution proposals, as well as forensic analysis. HiQ wins the framework agreement.

HiQ’s cybersecurity department is a strategic and cutting-edge partner in the cybersecurity space whose expertise helps companies deal with threats, offers market-leading solutions, and helps secure customers’ continued digitization journey. HiQ is at the forefront of cybersecurity and provides its customers with a holistic perspective: everything from analysis, strategy and governance to deep defense and compliance.

The agreement is valid for one (1) year from the date of signing, and the total contract period will amount to a maximum of four (4) years. The assignment is placed in safety class.

About the National Government Service Centre:
The National Government Service Centre shall contribute to an efficient and accessible state administration. The National Government Service Centre delivers administrative services to other authorities and provides information and guidance in government services to private individuals and companies at their service offices throughout the country.

For more information, please contact:
Per-Olov Humla, Head of Cybersecurity at HiQ
Email: per-olov.humla@hiq.se