Helen Bentley

Helen Bentley represents a new generation of global leaders operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, human-centred design, and strategic transformation. As Global Partner in Digital Strategy, Innovation, and Experience Design at EY, she plays a pivotal role in helping organisations rethink how design functions within AI-powered transformation, particularly across marketing and communications. Her work challenges conventional models of design, repositioning it as a strategic driver of value, clarity, and responsible innovation in an era increasingly shaped by automation and intelligent systems.

Educated at University of Oxford, where she completed both her BA and MA, Helen built a strong academic foundation before embarking on a global professional journey that has spanned more than fifteen years across Asia and Europe. Much of her early career was shaped in Tokyo, where she led and delivered large-scale digital, communications, and experience-led transformation programmes for major corporations, global brands, and public institutions. This period cemented her reputation for navigating complex cultural, organisational, and technological environments while driving meaningful change at scale.

Today, based in London, Helen leads EY’s design capability, advising multinational organisations and private-equity-backed businesses on how to align innovation, technology, and human experience. Alongside her professional leadership, she is pursuing doctoral research at the Institute of Design, focusing on generative AI for communications, content, and marketing design. Her academic work reinforces her position as both a practitioner and a thinker, bridging rigorous research with real-world application at the highest levels of industry.

In 2025, Helen emerged as a prominent voice on the global stage, speaking at influential forums including the World Economic Forum Technology Retreat, Cannes Lions, Ad Asia, Go Tech, and Service Design conferences. Her insights on AI, design ethics, innovation, and the future of communication have earned the trust of global clients as well as academic institutions. With a career defined by international leadership, intellectual depth, and forward-looking impact, Helen Bentley is fast becoming a recognised authority in her field, making her unquestionably one of the emerging global leaders shaping the future in 2026.