Helle Bank Jorgensen

CEO and Founder

Helle Bank Jorgensen is the CEO and founder of Competent Boards, offering online climate and ESG programs that draw on the experience of more than 150 renowned board members, business leaders, and investors. Hundreds of directors and senior executives have enrolled in these programs in order to transform their careers and their companies. 

Helle is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable business practices, with a 30-year record of turning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks into innovative and profitable business opportunities. She works with many global Fortune 500 board members and executives, as well as smaller companies and investors.

Public speaking

Helle is a regular keynote speaker, moderator, and panelist for major event hosts, including:

Amazon bestselling author​

Helle is the author of Amazon bestseller Stewards of the Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. The book gives invaluable guidance on what boards must do if the businesses they guide are to respond successfully to today’s enormous economic, environmental, and social challenges. Through practical examples, guides, and real-life experiences, this highly praised book will help any business leader who wants to keep up with new environmental, ethical, financial, and societal demands.

Thought leadership

Helle’s book, blogs, articles, and posts make her one of the world’s most read and followed voices in ESG, and one of LinkedIn’s Top 15 2022 Voices to Follow in the Green Economy. Articles include:

Awards

Helle’s work has been widely recognized, including:

Other accolades

Helle serves on:

She has served as the Chair of the European Sustainability Reporting Association (ESRA), the Global Compact Network Canada, Datamaran, and as a member of the Sustainability Advisory Panel of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Sustainability Policy Group of the Institute of European Accountants (FEE).

About Helle

Helle pioneered corporate reporting of ESG as part of the widening recognition that environmental, social, and governance issues are a crucial contributor to any organization’s success — or failure. She created the world’s first “green account” based on lifecycle assessment, and the first integrated annual report that combines ESG with financial performance. She has worked on natural capital accounting for the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.

Helle trained as a business lawyer and state-authorized public accountant (CPA) in Denmark, and holds a master’s degree in business administration and auditing. She is a former PwC audit and advisory partner in Denmark and the United States, where she led the firm’s sustainability and climate practices.

In 2020 she was awarded the Global Impact Award and named one of “5 people in ESG to look out for”.

Follow Helle on social media

Welcome, which course are you interested in:

Primarily discuss the topics through the lens of serving on the board. You must be serving on at least one board with fiduciary responsibility to enter this stream.

Discuss the topics through a wide range of business perspectives (including the board) and comprise senior executives, investors, and board advisors.

Keep current with us.

Stay in the know with the latest sustainability, ESG and climate insights, plus be the first to learn about program updates and events.