Mrs Eeva Pihlajaniemi has wide experience in international affairs. Pihlajaniemi holds Master’s degree in international business and business law from Turku University. Graduate theses she conducted in Meeting the Challenges of Export Markets: Entrepreneurs’s Personality and International Orientation which was presented in ENDEC World Conference on Entrepreneurship in Singapore. Before and during her studies she studied as exchange student in USA and Germany. 

Recently Mrs Pihlajaniemi was nominated by the U.S. Embassy in Finland to participate in International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in USA during the winter 2015.  International Visitors are current and emerging leaders who travel to the U.S. for programs that reflect their professional interests and U.S. foreign policy goals. Program was arranged under the theme Contemporary U.S. Economy: Financial Markets, Trade and Economic Development.

Her international working career Pihlajaniemi created in big international listed companies in Finland, England, Germany and Denmark. After returning back to Finland Pihlajaniemi worked and was also a co-partner in small consulting company. In 2008 she joined Wirma Lappeenranta Oy (former Lappeenranta Business Development Company) to help and guide South Karelian SME's on their way to international growth. For a while Pihlajaniemi also coordinated Lappeenranta city’s Russian and other international affairs. She also carried out the 3rd and 4th EU-Russia Innovation Forum on the behalf of Lappeenranta City. Pihlajaniemi also manages a national service concept which aims to help Finnish companies build their competitive edge in the global economy by commercializing Russian green innovations.

Mrs Pihlajaniemi is also experienced in carrying out EU-projects. She has been involved in many smaller and bigger projects around international affairs, SME internationalization, commercializing green innovations and creating green service processes.

At the moment her special focus is in green economy. Thinking and growing green is the main aim of Lappeenranta businesses, which the city is already known for. Read more. Current topics include growth support for knowledge-based start-up companies, development of green Lappeenranta hub and clustering of innovative environmental technology suppliers and users.