Karoliina Niemi, MSc, PhD, has been appointed Managing Director of Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd and a member of the Metsähallitus Management Group.
Niemi will transfer to the position from Finnish Forest Industries Federation, where she has worked as a Director of Forest Affairs since 2019. Niemi has previously worked at the Finnish Forest Industries Federation as a Manager of EU Forest Affairs and as a Senior Adviser in Forest Policy, as well as in The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners, the Finnish Forest Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Niemi has graduated as a forester and doctor of philosophy, and she is also a docent in plant ecophysiology.
Niemi will start at Metsähallitus, on 1 October 2025, and assume the duties of Managing Director as of 1 January 2026.
Metsähallitus’ subsidiary Forestry Ltd manages multiple-use forests sustainably and produces renewable raw materials. The task involves reconciling wood production demands and goals related to forest recreational use, climate change mitigation, biodiversity, reindeer husbandry and Sámi culture. Less than one third of state-owned land areas are used for forestry purposes, approximately 2.75 million hectares, in addition to which 0.44 million hectares are in restricted commercial use. Forestry Ltd’s annual turnover is over EUR 400 million, and the company employs approximately 400 people.
“Karoliina has extensive knowledge of the Finnish and international forest sector and experience of diverse stakeholder engagement. In addition to green growth, the management of state-owned forests and Metsähallitus’ strategy will increasingly emphasise the challenges related to biodiversity and climate change, to which we must be able to respond, while reconciling societal expectations and those of various stakeholders. It is a pleasure to welcome Karoliina to Metsähallitus to promote our important task of fostering the value of nature and shared wealth,” says Juha S. Niemelä, Director General of Metsähallitus.
“Forestry Ltd has an important role as a manager and user of shared forests, as well as a pioneer in sustainable forestry. I look forward to working with the customers and Metsähallitus’ competent personnel and taking care of our shared forest property,” says Karoliina Niemi.
Forest Counsellor Jussi Kumpula, who has been the Managing Director of Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd since 2016, will retire at the end of 2025. Kumpula has made a long career at Metsähallitus in various positions since the late 1980s.
“At this stage, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jussi for his exceptionally significant work in the development of Metsähallitus and the Finnish forest sector as a whole,” says Juha S. Niemelä.
More information:
- Juha S. Niemelä, Director General, Metsähallitus, p. 050 500 3681
- Karoliina Niemi, p. 050 5679093