dr Sjoukje Heimovaara
Sjoukje Heimovaara has been chairman of the board of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) since 01 July 2022. She studied plant breeding in Wageningen and obtained her PhD in Leiden. She then worked at Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the plant breeding company Royal Van Zanten; as R&D director (Research & Development) with international responsibility and later as CEO. She knows the plant and research world like the back of her hand and got to know the food world as general director of the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG) at WUR.
In her career, Heimovaara has gained experience in the fields of government, contract research, basic research and higher education as well as in industry. With WUR, she works to generate, apply and disseminate scientific knowledge from research and education for the benefit of society in order to contribute to a healthier and sustainable world.
Additional positions
She is also a 12.3 SDG Champion, Member of the Board of Universities of the Netherlands, member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the UN Food System Coordination Hub and member of the Committee of Recommendation of Museum Staal
