Kornely Kakachia is the founder and Director of GIP. An Associate professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Kakachia has held visiting appointments at John. F. Kennedy School of government, Harvard University and the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York. He earned his PhD in Political Science at Tbilisi State University. He is a member of International Studies Association (ISA) and the Programme on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS  Eurasia).