Helen Day is DWG’s Chief Operating Officer. She is responsible for the management and development of DWG businesses. She also has overall responsibility for service delivery, team development and core functions.
Helen has managed many client relationships at major companies in finance, the oil industry, retail, public sector and pharmaceuticals before focusing on the people and operations side of the business.
She started with DWG as a benchmarker of global member intranets and digital workplaces, an author of research reports and a consultant in the areas of communication, strategy and governance.
Before DWG, Helen worked for the international pharmacy chain Walgreen Boots Alliance for 14 years, setting up the organization’s first intranet and becoming Group Intranet Manager in the 1990s. There she led a project to consolidate seven business intranets, to roll out a new group-wide CMS and portal, and extend it to more than 1,500 retail stores.
Throughout Helen’s career she has held senior appointments in both large large international blue-chip world and a growing entrepreneurial international SME. In both worlds she managed complex internal and external client relationships, delivered transformation programmes, and built and nurtured high-performing teams.
Digital Workplace Group (DWG)
Helen started with Digital Workplace Group as a freelance consultant working on DWG members' global intranets and digital workplaces, an author of research reports and a consultant in the areas of communication, strategy and governance.
She managed many client relationships at major companies in finance, the oil industry, retail, public sector and pharmaceuticals before focusing on the people and operations side of the business.
Walgreen Boots Alliance
After University and travel, Helen worked for the international pharmacy chain Walgreen Boots Alliance for 14 years, through Marketing Research, Business Information and then setting up the organization’s first intranet and becoming Group Intranet Manager.
There she led a project to consolidate seven business intranets from international healthcare companies to UK retail businesses, to roll out a new group-wide CMS and portal, and extend it to more than 1,500 retail pharmacy stores.
Helen has a proven track record in shaping business strategy and driving operational excellence across diverse industries, with extensive experience building and leading high-performing, cross-functional teams, and strong skills in aligning operational priorities with overall corporate vision and long-term growth.
Extensive expertise in designing and implementing operational frameworks, policies, and procedures that improve efficiency and ensure compliance, combined with strong capabilities in leading change and transformation programmes, optimising performance, and delivering sustainable cost reductions.
Deep experience in people leadership, talent management, and organisational development, with a proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop leadership pipelines while fostering company culture, employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Helen has managed senior client relationships at major organisations in finance, oil and gas, retail, the public sector, and pharmaceuticals, demonstrating expertise in stakeholder engagement, contract negotiation, and fostering long-term partnerships while consistently balancing client expectations with operational delivery.
A: Tricky. Both up in the hills in Bali and out on the sea sailing. I’ve been lucky enough to go to Bali twice, although 30 years apart. It still retains its magic for me. Beautiful and peaceful, both scenery and people. I just relax and smile the minute I think about it. Also, out at sea, the peacefulness of being on a boat with the sails up, no motor and beautiful scenery and wildlife to watch is also a place of calm. After that it is home.
A: A detective or pathologist. I’m always looking to solve puzzles – spot patterns, fill in the gaps, connect the dots, make things work better, solve problems. It’s what I do in DWG and in another life I’d do the same. As a child, apparently I wanted to be a nurse; I suppose making people better is fixing stuff too!
A: Our people. Hands down. DWG is full of dedicated, professional, knowledgeable and fun people to work with. I learn something from someone, and laugh, every day.
A: A cat. Nobody truly owns them or tells them what to do, they make their own rules. I have three, so I know.
Helen won the International Information Industry Award for ‘Best Intranet Project’ in 2004 for this work and was runner-up for the European Information Professional of the Year Award in 2005.
She is a proud member of the well-respected UK Institute of Directors and an active member of the Management Consultancies Association.
Helen Day was presented with the ‘Exceptional Engagement’ award at the Nottingham University Business School.
The digital workplace is hugely enabling in many ways, however, the fact that you can work from anywhere at any time also means that many people find they simply cannot or perhaps choose not to switch off.
I spent 14 years in a busy corporate office and today I work in the digital workplace, often physically sitting alone. So how does working in the digital workplace feel compared with a traditional physical office?