Primmer comes to SEI from the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), where she has served as Research Director since 2019. In that role, she has been responsible for the quality, integrity and impact of Syke’s research, and has led cross-cutting work on societal change and the quality of information – helping ensure that research supports policy and implementation in meaningful ways and advances sustainability transformation. Since 2020, she has also served as first deputy to Syke’s Director General.

Alongside her institutional leadership, Primmer has played an active role in international science–policy processes. She is a Bureau Member of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and a Panel Member of the UNEP International Resource Panel (IRP). Through this work, she has helped shape global conversations on biodiversity, resource governance and sustainability, focusing on how evidence can best support decision-making.

SEI Board Chair Lennart Båge welcomed the appointment:

Eeva combines extensive leadership experience with scientific excellence and has strong expertise in evidence-based decision making and international science-policy processes. In these turbulent times, she is the right person to lead SEI on our continued journey of bridging science, policy and practice.

Originally trained in forestry, Primmer holds a PhD in Agriculture and Forestry from the University of Helsinki and is an adjunct professor (Docent) of Environmental Policy. Her research spans environmental governance, ecosystem services, biodiversity and natural resource management, with particular attention to how institutions and organizations adapt to complex environmental challenges.

Speaking to SEI’s mission of connecting research, policy and practice, Primmer underscores the importance of integrating diverse knowledge streams:

Solving sustainability challenges requires rigorous knowledge production about how people, organizations, institutions and processes work, alongside a deepening understanding of ecosystems and the environment. We need genuine integration of these knowledge streams to better support decision-making.

Primmer will begin her tenure as Executive Director on 1 May 2026. Over the coming months, SEI will share opportunities to meet her and learn more about her priorities for the Institute.