Helen Helliwell

Helen was appointed by Government to lead the bid and now the delivery of the Invictus Games in 2027. Her career in the civil service spans over 20 years, predominantly in the Ministry of Defence but also with secondments across Government. At the heart of all these roles have been the development and delivery of people centred strategies and policies with a strong record of delivering impact at a national level and across Government, the private sector, the third sector and academia. Prior to this role, Helen was the Director Armed Forces People Policy in the Ministry of Defence where she led a team of over 200 serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and civilians responsible for over £7bn of public sector spend annually.


The Invictus Games hold personal significance for Helen. She was a policy adviser for Op HERRICK, Afghanistan, reporting on casualties and fatalities during the Campaign in 2005-06; and subsequently led work at a national level to support our wounded, injured and sick Armed Forces Community. Helen instigated the formation of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and performed the role of Chair of Trustees for the first five years, in that time she oversaw delivery of over £200m in grants management to the Armed Forces Community and established the charity as the go to for Government funding. Helen was also the Defence Armed Forces Mental Health and Wellbeing Champion for five years and was a presenter at the Sydney Invictus Games and served as Head of Delegation for Team UK at both the Hague and Dusseldorf Invictus Games.