Helena Helmersson

Helena Helmersson
Born	Helena Helmersson October 1973 (age 51) 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]

Early life

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]

Career

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]

Recognition

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]

Personal life

Helmersson is married and has two children.[16] She lives in Danderyd Municipality.[17]

References

1. Lindholm, Maria (27 August 2020). "H&M:s vd fick en mardrömsstart: "Vi behöver ta större kliv"" [H&M's CEO had a nightmare start: "We need to take bigger steps"]. Dagens industri (in Swedish).
2. "Alumna from Umeå University is named most powerful woman in business". Umeå University. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
3. "Stefan Persson lämnar som styrelseordförande i H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB vid årsstämman och föreslår att Karl-Johan Persson efterträder honom. Helena Helmersson har utsetts till ny vd" (in Swedish). 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020.
4. "Helena Helmersson: Chief Sustainability Officer, H&M". Business of Fashion. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
5. "Speaker: Helena Helmersson". BSR. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
6. "Helena Helmersson: Head of Sustainability – H&M". Nordic Fashion Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
7. "H&M suffers steep loss as pandemic hits sales". FT.
8. "H&M profits tumble after Russia exit and soaring costs". FT.
9. Richard Milne (31 January 2023). "H&M chief quits as fashion chain struggles to lift profits".
10. "H&M Replaces CEO With Immediate Effect As Sales And Stock Slump". Forbes. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
11. "Helena Helmersson hoppar på styrelseuppdrag" [Helena Helmersson jumps at a board position]. Dagens industri (in Swedish). 11 June 2024.
12. "Helena Helmersson | 2019 AACSB Influential Leader". www.aacsb.edu. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
13. Edlund, Roland (18 June 2020). "HM:s vd utsedd till hedersdoktor vid Umeå universitet" [HM's CEO appointed honorary doctorate at Umeå University]. Västerbottens-Kuriren (in Swedish).
14. Stoianov, Eva (18 June 2020). "Hållbarhetskämpe blir hedersdoktor" [Sustainability fighter becomes an honorary doctor] (in Swedish). Umeå University.
15. "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
16. Armstrong, Lisa (14 November 2020). "H&M's new boss on fashion in 2020: 'We could emerge from this stronger'". The Daily Telegraph.
17. Weimer, Niklas (30 January 2020). "Rutinerad och inflytelserik – det här är H&M:s nya vd" [Seasoned and influential – this is H&M's new CEO]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish).