Kimmo Tiilikainen has been working as Director General at Geological Survey of Finland since beginning of June 2021. Previously he was involved in politics: he acted as a Member of Parliament for 16 years, held several ministerial positions for five years, and for the last couple of years he was State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

Combining environment and economy is one of his guidelines both in work and private life, key elements being sustainability and circular economy. Kimmo Tiilikainen has worked towards these goals internationally. He was one of the EU’s Ministerial Negotiators of the Paris Agreement and signed it on behalf of Finland in 2016. He was one of the facilitators in UNFCCC COP 24 when Paris Rule Book was finalized in Katowice 2018. As a Minister of Energy in Finland, he implemented Finnish climate policy by promoting both renewable energy as well as coal ban. Tiilikainen has also acted as Vice President of United Nations Environment Assembly 4 (UNEA4) 2017 – 2019. During Finnish EU Presidency 2019 as a State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance he was leading the negotiations and trilogies concerning EU budget 2020. 

Between 2023-2025 Kimmo Tiilikainen was a member of World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council and he acted as a Chairman of the Board in the Finnish Forest Certification Council, PEFC Finland (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) 2022-2025. In 2024 he was chairing the Steering Group updating Mineral Strategy of Finland and since 2024 he has been a member of Executive Committee of Euro Geosurveys.