Speaker Profile

Helena Foulkes is a Democrat running for Governor of Rhode Island. She is a lifelong Rhode Islander, wife of 36 years, mother of four, grandmother and cancer survivor who has spent her career taking challenges head-on and providing results-oriented, solutions-driven leadership. An experienced executive, she got her start at CVS Health after graduating from Harvard Business School. Her first job was designing store layouts, and she spent the next two decades rising through the ranks from the cubicle to the corner office, ultimately becoming President of CVS Pharmacy, where she led an $80 billion organization with 200,000 employees nationwide. She developed CVS's widely successful loyalty program that fundamentally changed how the company served its customers.

After her successful tenure at CVS, Helena served as CEO of Hudson's Bay Company from 2018 to 2020. Her professional achievements have earned her recognition from Fortune and Fast Company. Helena’s leadership has been valued as a member of numerous non-profit and corporate boards such as the Boys and Girls Club of America, the National Bureau of Economic Research, President of the Harvard University Board of Overseers, The Home Depot and Costco. Helena also currently serves on the board of Crossroads Rhode Island, the state’s leading advocacy organization for the homeless, and was the Vice Chair of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.