First Collaboration Will Be a Global Award Designed to Encourage Youth Entrepreneurship in Combating Climate Change

/EINPresswire.com/ -- LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/06/16 -- Helena, a group of global leaders, and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world's leading management consultancies, have formed a strategic partnership aimed at developing and guiding Helena's social-impact projects and initiatives, the companies announced today.

Founded earlier this year, Helena is a first-of-its-kind, merit-based organization, resembling a combination of a think tank, mission-driven nonprofit, and networking group of global leaders. Each year, Helena selects a class of 30 highly accomplished leaders, half of whom are younger than 25 and each from a different field. Bridging the divides of age and domain, they meet throughout the year to build relationships and share their diverse expertise, ideas, and contacts.

The high-powered group currently includes retired General Stanley McChrystal, actress Chloë Grace Moretz, author Deepak Chopra, and North Korean defector and human rights activist Park Yeon-mi. (For a full list of Helena's members, click here.)

BCG has committed to assist Helena's initiatives through pro bono advice and support from its management consulting practices and BCG Digital Ventures, the firm's corporate venture and incubation arm.

"This relationship is about applying BCG's brainpower to some of our most promising ideas right at their inception," says Helena founder Henry Elkus, a 21-year-old Yale junior, entrepreneur, and business blogger for the Wall Street Journal. "It's invaluable to have access to such expertise."

The two organizations' first official collaboration will be the Helena Prize, a worldwide award competition designed to encourage youth entrepreneurship in combating climate change. The prize will be open to anyone under 30 years of age whose for-profit venture helps to reduce radiative forcing, a metric of environmental harm.

BCG will aid Helena in identifying and assessing the winning technology and by supporting the prize's winner with management and digital consulting services. In addition, the winner will join Helena as a full member, be granted access to Sierra Energy's Area 52 -- a state-of-the-art business incubator workspace at the University of California Davis -- and receive mentoring from leading climate scientists and clean-tech entrepreneurs.

"We're delighted to partner with Helena and assist in launching this prize," said Jeff Hill, a BCG senior partner and the head of the firm's Los Angeles office. "Helena is a dynamic organization that shares our mission of 'shaping the future, together.' We look forward to lending our expertise to ensure that both the nonprofit and the award have lasting impact."

Separate from Helena's 30 members, the organization has a "Brain Trust" that it can tap for additional reach and guidance. Consisting of individuals of extraordinary achievement, influence, and leadership from many different fields, the Brain Trust serves to broaden and deepen the Helena community. Members include global strategist Parag Khanna, antitorture advocate Karen I. Tse, and filmmaker Casey Neistat.

For more information on the prize and how to apply, please visit www.helena.co/the-helena-prize.

To learn more about Helena and its initiatives, please contact Priscila Martinez at +1 (424) 230-3309 or priscila@helena.co.

About Helena
Helena brings together a group of global leaders to spur change. The organization spearheads a new, intergenerational and cross-sectional model for discovering, disseminating and implementing solutions to global problems. Half of Helena's 30 members are under the age of 25, and each is an exceptional leader from a distinct field. The group features a Nobel Laureate, environmental activists, Fortune 500 executives, a hyperpolyglot, a biochemist, a military commander, entertainment industry personalities, bestselling authors and more. To learn more, and view a full list of Helena's members and projects, please visit http://www.helena.co.

About The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com.