Bestselling author and journalist exploring happiness, culture and emotional wellbeing through a Scandinavian lens.
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Top rated!5 of 5
'Everything was just outstanding. You are a consummate professional and you really connected with the audience.'
Fred Hebblewhite
Director of Resource Development, United Way
Helen Russell is a bestselling British author, journalist and internationally recognised speaker known for her work on happiness, emotions and cultural wellbeing. Formerly editor of marieclaire.co.uk, she moved to Scandinavia and became the Guardian’s Scandinavia correspondent — an experience that inspired her global bestseller The Year of Living Danishly. Today, Helen speaks to audiences around the world about emotional culture, workplace wellbeing and what we can learn from different approaches to living well, drawing on more than 12 years of research and storytelling.
Helen Russell is a bestselling author, journalist and speaker who has spent more than a decade exploring how culture shapes the way we live, work and feel. With a unique mix of research, storytelling and humour, she delivers thought-provoking talks on happiness, emotional wellbeing and the lessons we can learn from cultures around the world.
Originally from the UK, Helen was formerly editor of marieclaire.co.uk before relocating to Scandinavia, where she became the Guardian’s Scandinavia correspondent. Her move inspired her first book, The Year of Living Danishly, which became an international bestseller and was later optioned for television. The book introduced readers across the world to Scandinavian approaches to work-life balance, wellbeing and everyday happiness.
Today, Helen is recognised as one of the most engaging voices on cultural wellbeing and emotional intelligence, bringing fresh perspectives to organisations, conferences and leadership events internationally.
Helen Russell is the author of six critically acclaimed books, translated into 21 languages. Her writing combines journalism, cultural research and personal experiences, making complex topics accessible, relatable and entertaining.
Her work has reached audiences globally through leading publications including:
Helen’s ability to combine evidence-based insights with warm and engaging storytelling has made her a sought-after keynote speaker for companies and organisations looking to inspire employees, leaders and audiences alike.
For the past 12 years, Helen Russell has focused her work on understanding cultural approaches to emotions and wellbeing. She explores how different societies handle stress, connection, resilience and happiness — and what businesses and individuals can learn from these perspectives.
Her talks are relevant for organisations navigating modern workplace challenges, employee wellbeing, leadership culture and changing expectations around work-life balance. Helen shares practical insights while creating an engaging and entertaining experience for audiences.
Topics often include:
Helen’s presentations are grounded in research but delivered with humour, honesty and personal anecdotes that resonate with audiences across industries and cultures.
Helen Russell has spoken internationally for a wide range of organisations, conferences and corporate events. Her clients include Google, Novo Nordisk, LEGO and Bupa, among others.
Whether speaking to leadership teams, large conference audiences or internal company events, Helen brings an engaging stage presence and a clear ability to connect with people. Her talks encourage reflection while also offering actionable insights that audiences can take back into their professional and personal lives.
She is particularly valued for her ability to make topics like wellbeing, emotions and workplace culture feel relevant, inspiring and approachable without losing depth or credibility.
Helen’s popularity as a speaker comes from her rare ability to combine international research with authentic storytelling. Audiences appreciate her warmth, intelligence and down-to-earth communication style, which makes her talks both insightful and highly relatable.
Having lived and worked between cultures herself, Helen offers a genuinely international perspective on modern life, leadership and wellbeing. Her work highlights how small cultural shifts can create meaningful improvements in happiness, collaboration and emotional health.
Book Helen Russell for your event if you are looking for a speaker who can inspire audiences with fresh perspectives on happiness, workplace wellbeing, emotional culture and the Scandinavian way of living — delivered through engaging stories, research-backed insights and practical takeaways.
5 of 5
'Everything was just outstanding. You are a consummate professional and you really connected with the audience.'
Fred Hebblewhite Director of Resource Development, United Way
5 of 5
'Helen is a great speaker - highly recommend. She brings a friendliness and easy to listen to feel alongside some really fascinating insights and info. A really awesome talk.'
Murray Andrews Head of Publishing, LEGO Games
5 of 5
'Your talk was amazing. Thank you so much'
Professor Lord Richard Layard Co-editor of the World Happiness Report.
5 of 5
'A fantastic presentation! A 110% happy and satisfied customer, I will be recommending you to my colleagues'
Lotte Skovborg Project Manager, Aarhus University
5 of 5
‘Thank you so much for being a part of our final day! We’ve received wonderful feedback and your contribution was a highlight for many.’
Dilara Sevinc Programme Manager, EuroFinance - The Economist
5 of 5
''Helen is a fabulous speaker and her combination of insight, humour and honesty left our audience spellbound. Her story is fascinating and she brings it to life in such an engaging and memorable way. We’ve had lots of positive feedback from our audience and would love to work with Helen again'
Dr Mark Williamson Director Action for Happiness
Keynote by Helen Russel:
This talk is based on Helen’s bestseller The Year of Living Danishly and touches upon the key areas that psychologists and experts agree are important in order to live a more content life. Covering trust, security, a sense of belonging, equality, addressing the aesthetics (& ‘getting hygge with it’), Helen offers an insightful and useful guide to becoming happier – wherever we are. This keynote is suitable for group events, human resources professionals as well as CSR agendas.
Keynote by Helen Russel:
As someone who has worked across Europe, America and Asia, Helen Russell keeps discovering more about what it means to be British. In this eye-opening keynote, Helen shares the most notable differences between Denmark and the UK.
When Helen moved to Denmark she was appalled to discover that Danes have no word for “please”, don’t hold doors for each other and talk salary like it's everyone's business – something that verges on taboo in the UK. This keynote offers an amusing look at why Brits behave as they do as well as the norms in British society like manners, money, family, traditions and honesty.
This presentation is perfect for international companies with employees working in Denmark or thinking of expanding as well as cultural adventurers, schools and universities.
Keynote by speaker Helen Russel:
In this insightful keynote, Helen shares the secrets of happiness from 30 countries – uncovering the unique cultural concepts, habits and attitudes keeping people afloat, worldwide. Based on research from her book The Atlas of Happiness. Helen talks about how the book came about after a series of conversations with strangers - and why we need to look to other countries for inspiration in the face of negative bias. Helen inspires her audience as she shares examples of ways we can all live a better life, as well as what she learned during her research.
Keynote by Helen Russell:
What we can learn from the Nordic countries about raising happier, healthier children. Based on Helen’s new book How to Raise a Viking, this talk takes a deep dive into the parenting culture of the Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure, screen time and the surprising customs that lead to well-adjusted humans.
For fellow internationals, it’s a peek behind the cultural curtain at a world where babies sleep outside in their prams and pre-schoolers wield axes. In this talk, Helen shares the secrets of Nordic parenting and how we could all use a little more Viking spirit in our own lives – wherever we are. For Danes and other Nordic audiences, it’s a humorous reminder of the way Viking parenting may come across as surprising to the rest of the world and a celebration of Nordic culture at its best.
To cover Viking babies, trust, samfundssind, respect, how ‘terrible twos’ are reframed as ‘the boundary age’, food, school, how 4 and 7pm is sacred family time, play, public speaking, plus why there’s no such thing as bad weather…
Keynote by Helen Russell:
In this engaging keynote, speaker Helen gives an overview of the challenges internationals face when moving to Denmark. Combining almost a decade of research with personal experiences and anecdotes, Helen shares practical and useful tips and tricks to make Denmark feel like a home. She covers important areas like culture shock, making friends, and keeping your identity. She also shares her top things not to do when moving to Denmark – cultural faux pas that Helen learned the hard way! This keynote presentation is ideal for international organisations as well as companies looking to hire internationals.
