Helga is currently the Vice President and Special Envoy for Multilateral & Sustainability Affairs at Bayer. With over 20 years of experience, Helga has worked with governments, international financial organizations, think tanks, and the private sector, building an international career with roles in Berlin, Brasilia, Belgrade, Guadalajara, and Washington, D.C.
In her current role at Bayer, she leads the company’s global multilateral policy, geopolitical affairs, and partnerships with international organizations, helping to navigate the shifting geopolitical landscape, advance sustainability, and secure Bayer’s presence in critical discussions. Her work includes collaborations with UN agencies, Multilateral Development Banks, and prominent networks such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Munich Security Conference (MSC), and the G20.
Before joining Bayer, Helga led open innovation initiatives at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where she built and expanded strategic partnerships to promote innovation and address development challenges. She previously served as Head of External Relations at IDB Invest and held other roles within the IDB Group, including Chief of the Constituencies Unit and Head of Strategic Communications for Sectors. She also led external relations for the IDB Group in Brazil.
She also served as the Executive Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Washington, D.C., advancing transatlantic policy exchange on global security and development. She began her career as an Advisor on Foreign and Development Policy in the German Parliament (Bundestag), later becoming Chief of Staff to Hamburg’s Representative at the German Bundesrat and a European Affairs Advisor for the Hamburg Government. She also served as a Senior Advisor for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Belgrade, where she introduced a program on parliamentary control of the armed forces.
Helga sits on the Board of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and is a member and Deputy Co-Chair of Brazil’s B20 Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture Task Force. She has been a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for the U.S. and Europe and has received fellowships from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Prince of Wales’ Business and Environment Program, and the BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Law from Frankfurt’s Goethe University and speaks Spanish, German, English, French, and Portuguese fluently.