Helena Helmersson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Helena Helmersson October 1973 (age 50) Skellefteå, Sweden |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Title | Chief executive, H&M |
| Term | 2020–2024 |
| Predecessor | Karl-Johan Persson |
| Successor | Daniel Ervér |
| Children | 2 |
Helena Helmersson (born October 1973) [1] is a Swedish former business executive. From 2010 to 2020, she was head of sustainability at the Swedish retail clothing company H&M, [2] and from 2020 to 2024 she was its CEO. [3]
Helmersson was born in Skellefteå in the north of Sweden along with her parents and two sisters. She graduated with a master's degree in international business administration from the Umeå School of Business and Economics in 1997. [2] [1]
Helmersson joined joined H&M in 1997. She became a section manager in the buying office before she went to Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2007 where she was H&M's production manager. After a further period serving as their department manager for underwear production in Hong Kong.
In 2010 when she returned to Stockholm to be manager for social responsibility and supply. [4] [5] Helmersson's responsibilities covered the improvement of the social and environmental sustainability of supply, contributing to H&M's sustainability strategy which was initially implemented in the 1990s. [6]
She was appointed CEO of H&M on 30 January, 2020. During her tenure H&M faced financial challenges due to the Covid pandemic [7] and losses from disinvesting in Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war as well as global supply chain difficulties and costs. [8]
On 31 January 2024, it was announced that Helmersson would be replaced as CEO of H&M by Daniel Ervér. [9] [10]
[…]it has been very demanding at times for me personally and I now feel that it is time to leave the CEO role, which of course has not been an easy decision.
— Helmersson [9]
In June 2024, Henderson joined the board of Quizrr, a Swedish digital training platform company founded by her husband. [11]
In March 2014, Helmersson was listed as Sweden's "Most Powerful Woman in Business" by the weekly business magazine Veckans Affärer . [2]
In 2019, she received the "Influential Leader" recognition from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for influencing the way corporations view sustainability. [12]
Helmersson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Umeå University in 2020 for her commitment to sustainability issues. [13] [14]
She was ranked 41st on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023. [15]
Helmersson is married and has two children. [16] She lives in Danderyd Municipality. [17]
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