Igor Beuker (40) was Chief Marketing Officer at listed companies Scoot, TeliaSonera and O2. With no portfolio, no clients and no money (except a loan) Igor founded digital marketing agency LaComunidad in 2003.

In 2004 he also founded online video metrics company ViralTracker. And in 2007 social media marketing agency SocialMedia8 and Adge ranked blog ViralBlog.com. In 2008 he sold a part of his Grupo LaComunidad shares to WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) a world leader in marketing communications.

Igor chaired the IAB NL for 5 years and he frequently shakes-up marketing events with his spicy vision. He is a top 10 trend watcher for Speakers Academy and gains new insights as creative digital strategist for brands like Heineken, Dell, Microsoft and Diesel and by being a jury member at the Webby Awards and AMMA Awards.

Being a fan of Richard Branson, Igor has challenged his entrepreneurial skills as shareholder/ board member at several internet companies, he is the sponsor manager for a K1 World Champion and he is co-owner of the Amsterdam-based fashion boutique Je m’ Appelle Iggy.

Connect to Igor via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Del.icio.us or send him an e-mail at info@viralblog.com. Or read Igor’s articles on Viralblog.com.

Paul van Veenendaal (30) started his professional career in 1999 at internet agency SiteSupport as a webdeveloper and search engine specialist, where he was involved in several projects for clients such as InBev, Shimano, Maersk and Wegener.

After this interesting period he switched in 2005 to the search engine specialists at Onetomarket to start a job as search engine optimizer and internet research specialist. As of september 2006 he is “wizard digital lab” at digital branding agency LaComunidad in Amsterdam. In this position he advises companies about viral marketing, social media, search engine marketing, and new internet trends. In 2007 he seeded the award winning campaign Fly for Fortune (KLM) and the shocking Dodge Nitro viral. Other brands he works for are Heineken, Nike, Nokia, Ford UK and WWF.

Paul is also founder of “Funny Movies” (1999), a platform for viral videos and TV commmercials, delivering video content for popular sites such as Wannahaves and KPN Broadband Portal and working with international viral agencies such as The Viral Factory (UK) and Lavacoms (AUS). In December 2005 “Funny Movies” was sold to the Canadian company DPMG. Since February 2006 Paul writes for Marketingfacts, the most influential marketing and business blog in The Netherlands.

You can connect with Paul via Twitter, LinkedIn, Hyves, Facebook and Del.icio.us or send him an email at paul@viralblog.com.

Read Paul’s articles on Viralblog.

Matthijs Roumen (23) just began his professional career but already started his blogging career on high valued Dutch blogs, such as Frank-ly.nl, lifehacking.nl and his own Dutch blog about social media: Matthijs Roumen Weblog. Matthijs worked at some of the most respected interactive communication agencies in the Netherlands: Rhinofly and SocialMedia8.

Matthijs is highly interested in the way social media is changing consumer conversations and the potential these kind of digital communication have for brands and corporates. Next to writing about these phenomenons in social media, he also loves to speak about it in lectures he gives at his old university in Leeuwarden (NL) and at the Lifehacking Academy. Matthijs is currently employed as social strategy director at Tribewise.

You can connect with Matthijs via Twitter, LinkedIn and del.icio.us or send him an email at viralblog@mroumen.com.

Read Matthijs’s articles on Viralblog.

Niels Bellaar (27) works at Amsterdam based social media marketing agency SocialMedia8 as Social Media Specialist. He started his career in the summer of 2007 at creative digital branding agency LaComunidad where his primary job was to manage content, in every way you can imagine.

His first encounters with social media were when studying International Management, and while the study ended up in tears, the passion for social media stayed. In August 2008 he finished his studies in Communications and started to expand his knowledge of social media at a professional level. Since the launch of ViralBlog he is responsible for the Viral Friday postings and always tries to supply you with your weekly shot of virals just in time for the weekend.

You can connect with Niels via Twitter, LinkedIn, Hyves, Facebook and Del.icio.us or send him an email at niels@socialmedia8.com.

Read Niels’s articles on Viralblog.

Pernille Hegnsholt (27) is Danish but lives in Amsterdam. She moved to Amsterdam in Marts 2009 after graduating with a M.Sc. in IT (Digital Design &amp Communication) from the IT – University of Copenhagen.

Pernille began her ‘digital’ career in 2002 when she studied Multimedia Design. Since then she has also studied Communication and Computer Science. Pernille has been working as Web Editor before she started working at GoViral where she expanded her knowledge within social media on a professional level.

Pernille is highly interested in social media and user generated content, which fits well with her current position as Jr. Social Creative Strategist at SocialMedia8. She spends a lot of time online looking for new trends and learning about the rapidly changing Social Media landscape.

If you want to know more about what she is doing and learning right now, follow her on Twitter or send her an email at pernille@socialmedia8.com or find her on Linkedin.

Read Pernille’s articles on Viralblog.

Laurens Bianchi (31) was one of the first graduates of the Johan Cruyff University. Johan Cruyff, a former professional soccer player, developed a dynamic, innovative and practical sport marketing & management study program especially for athletes. Within this study Laurens could leverage his passion for sports and marketing at the same time.

After working at Dell Computers and within Soccer Merchandising Laurens joined the LaComunidad team in 2007 as an Account Manager. From 2008 Laurens has been working as an Account Director for SocialMedia8, the social media marketing unit of Grupo LaComunidad. Since then he has been working on clients such as Nike, LG, Heineken, Ford, Nokia, Paramount and many more.

Laurens is highly interested in social media, viral marketing and sports, especially football.

You can connect with Laurens via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or buy one of his t-shirts.

Read Laurens’s articles on Viralblog.

Eelke Mol (24) is a Communication Science student at the University of Amsterdam. She is currently finishing her graduation thesis on Crowdsourcing. Besides that she is a junior Social Media Specialist at SocialMedia8.

Eelke is exploring the world of social media, which caught her interest even though university did not teach in this area. She thinks it is important to reach out to people in the way they are, not like they are just consumers. She loves discovering new possibilities within the social network and getting to the bottom of the new online developments.

You can connect with Eelke via Twitter, LinkedIn and Hyves or send her an email at eelke@socialmedia8.com

Read Eelke’s articles on Viralblog.

Daan Jansonius (25) has over 5 years of experience in online marketing. In 2005 he helped set up Talklfc, which has become one of the most popular communities for Liverpool FC fans. He is also the founder of The Socialistas – a place for you and ambitious people in the communications industry to share their passion for socially active brands.

In recent years he has been studying social media extensively both whilst at university and on placement at search engine marketing agency Onetomarket. This helped him develop a great understanding of how brands can become relevant in this space. He currently works at SocialMedia8 where he helps brands listen, understand and engage in social media.

He first started blogging at a personal blog, but soon joined the ViralBlog team to share his passion for social media. After a hiatus of 12 months he has rejoined our team to bring you all the latest news and insights from the world of social media.

Read Daan’s articles on Viralblog.

Mireille Hakkenberg (26) is a social media specialist. Her professional career started at LBi Lost Boys in the fall of 2007, where she first discovered the magic of online. Now, she works at social media marketing agency SocialMedia8 in Amsterdam.

During her studies Integrated Communication Management, she got addicted to Hyves turned social media into a fulltime job at SocialMedia8. Now, she is digging her way in the endless possibilities of the social space for brands and marketers. She joined the Viralblog team to share the latest virals and social media trends for everyone to get that daily shot of viral inspiration.

Next to Hyves, you can connect to her at Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg &amp Stumble or simply send an e-mail to mireille@socialmedia8.com

Read Mireille’s articles on Viralblog.

Nicole Niemann (38) started her professional career in 1999 at a more traditional direct marketing agency, which led to the first steps to online and interactive marketing for clients like Versatel, Proefdiervrij and Rabobank. After direct marketing her interest shifted fully to online advertising and she switched to AdLINK, Europe’s leading independent marketing agency for websites where she was working on several automotive, gaming, sports and health clients. Later, as a product manager, she was more involved in the commercial exploitation of websites.

In 2005 she shifted to Satama as Client Director, an digital agency which provided interactive services for clients like Audi, Skoda, ABN AMRO, Vodafone, INHOLLAND and the Nationale Postcodeloterij. Nicole was involved in several redesign projects and online advertising campaigns. Furthermore, she set up a business unit which focused on online media and web analytics. Satama has been taken over by LBi Lost Boys by the end of 2007 and she continued her activities at LBi until April 2009.

As of April 2009 she is Head of SocialMedia8 at digital branding agency LaComunidad in Amsterdam. In this position she is responsible for her team and she advises companies and agencies about social marketing, social media, new internet trends and ViralTracker. She is aiming to roll out the SocialMedia8 activities in London, Milan and Madrid. Brands she works for are Heineken, Nike, Microsoft, Motorola and Nikon.

You can connect with Nicole via Twitter, LinkedIn, Hyves, Facebook and Del.icio.us or send her an email at nicole@viralblog.com.

Read Nicole’s articles on Viralblog.