Biography

​​Helle Bank Jorgensen 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.

Helle is the founder and chief executive of Competent Boards, which offers online climate and ESG programs that draw on the experience of over 150 renowned board members, executives, and investors. Hundreds of directors and senior executives have enrolled in these programs to mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities presented by ESG and climate change.

A regular keynote speaker at major events, Helle is also the author of the newly published book Stewards of The Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. This book shows boards must have the insight and foresight to ask the right questions of management on complex issues such as climate change, ESG, corruption, cybersecurity, human trafficking and supply-chain resilience to realize long-term profits and sustainability.

Helle serves at:

• Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence’s Sustainability & ESG Insights Council;
• World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert Network for Corporate Governance, Leadership, and Emerging Multinationals;
• His Royal Highness Prince of Wales A4S (Accounting for Sustainability) Global Expert Panel;
• The Non-financial Digitisation Working Group of the Impact Management Project (IMP);
• The Reuters Panel of Expert Judges for the Responsible Business Awards;
• Canadian Climate Governance Experts –- a Commonwealth Climate & Law Initiative.

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).

She 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, leading the firm’s sustainability and climate practices.

Helle has 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.

In 2020 she was awarded the Global Impact Award and named one of “5 people in ESG to look out for.”  She is also the author of many thought-leading articles.