Helen Young Hayes

FOUNDER & CEO

Helen is the Founder and CEO of ActivateWork. ActivateWork’s mission is to transform lives by training, launching, and coaching the next generation of technology superstars. ActivateWork is the culmination of Helen’s past for-profit and non-profit experience, harnessing the power of the marketplace to achieve a vibrant talent ecosystem that fuels opportunity, growth, and prosperity for Colorado.

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen is a believer in and the embodiment of the American Dream, which she has woven into the fabric of the organization. ActivateWork bridges the gap between individual potential and realized success through rigorous recruiting, industry-driven training, curated matches, and professional skills coaching to prepare new employees to thrive in their careers. ActivateWork seeks to advance economic and professional success through new habits, mindsets, and disciplines to transform driven individuals into highly skilled, valuable team members.

Helen is a 20-year veteran of the financial industry. She was the portfolio manager of the flagship Janus Worldwide Fund, Janus Overseas Fund, and related assets totaling approximately $50 billion at Janus Capital, a mutual fund company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. She also served as Managing Director of Investments, heading up the 100-person research and investment arm of Janus Capital, encompassing equities, fixed income, money market, and trading.

In 2018, Helen was selected as one of the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business for her leadership at ActivateWork. Helen was honored by Girl Scouts of Colorado as a 2019 Woman of Distinction. In 2020 Helen received the GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award for the Nonprofit Sector and the Colorado Titan 100 CEO Award. She was a 2021 Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business and an APEX Awards Colorado Technology Association Talent Champion of the Year. In 2022, Helen was honored as a Top Entrepreneur Finalist by ColoradoBiz Magazine and was a finalist for the 2023 9 News Leader of the Year Award.

Helen is a member of the Colorado Forum, the International Women’s Forum, and the AEI Leadership Network. Helen helped launch the Colorado Inclusive Economy, a CEO-led collaborative to build a more prosperous Colorado community. Helen is a Director of MalarVx, a vaccine company that seeks to eradicate malaria in developing countries. She is an Advisor and former Board Chair to Mile High Ministries, a Denver nonprofit serving low-income Coloradans.

Helen, her husband Matt, and her family have called Denver home for 30 years. Helen is an avid, albeit average, athlete and enjoys biking, swimming, running, skiing, and surfing.