Helena Helmersson
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Helena Helmersson (born 1973) is a Swedish business executive. Since 2010, she has been head of sustainability at the Swedish retail clothing company H&M.[1]
Biography
Born in Skellefteå in the north of Sweden, Helmersson graduated with a master's degree in international business administration at the Umeå School of Business and Economics in 1997.[1] On joining 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 until 2010 when she returned to Stockholm to be manager for social responsibility and supply.[2][3]
Helmersson's current responsibilities cover the improvement of the social and environmental sustainability of supply, contributing to H&M's sustainability strategy which was initially implemented in the 1990s.[4]
On 5 March 2014, Helmersson was elected Sweden's "Most Powerful Woman in Buainess" by the weekly business magazine Veckans Affärer.[1] The honour came as a complete surprise. Interviewed by Alan Atkisson of GreenBiz, she commented: "I'm super proud and very happy. There is a gigantic amount of teamwork behind everything we do, and I take this as proof that it's been visible."[5]
References
- ^ a b c "Alumna from Umeå University is named most powerful woman in business". Umeå University. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Helena Helmersson: Chief Sustainability Officer, H&M". Business of Fashion. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Speaker: Helena Helmersson". BSR. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "Helena Helmersson: Head of Sustainability – H&M". Nordic Fashion Association. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ Atkisson, Alan (29 April 2014). "How She Leads: H&M's Helena Helmersson". GreenBiz.