Prof. Dr. Susanne Buiter is Scientific Executive Director and Spokesperson of the Executive Board of GFZ. In 2024 and 2025 she serves as Vice President of the Helmholtz Association for the Helmholtz Research Field "Earth and Environment". She is particularly interested in "open science", in promoting diversity and in the global challenge of climate change.

Susanne studied geophysics in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and received her PhD with a thesis on numerical modelling of surface deformation resulting from tectonic processes. Stages in her career have taken her to Switzerland, Canada, and Norway. She led teams for Geodynamics and Solid Earth Geology at the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) and was affiliated with the University of Oslo. Since 2020, she is a professor for Tectonics and Geodynamics at the RWTH Aachen University. She is a strong supporter of the scientific community and serves as executive editor. She is a member of several national and international committees.