Full Name
Helen Fullen
Job Title
CEO and Founder
Company
Alinea
Speaker Bio
Helen Fullen brings over 25 years of dynamic leadership and innovation expertise in the global business landscape, spanning the US, Europe, and Asia. Her proven track record in steering cross-functional teams towards ambitious commercial targets foster robust stakeholder engagement in diverse and challenging environments.
As the Founder and CEO of Alinea (A-LYNN-EE-A), an award-winning Irish company, Helen has earned acclaim for her expertise in early-stage venture development. Her business specializes in crafting tailored enterprise development programs for government agencies, corporations, and third-level academic institutions, with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Helen works extensively with female founders, providing strategic guidance and hands-on support to help them start, scale, and sustain successful businesses. Through programs, mentorship, and community building, she empowers women entrepreneurs to amplify their impact, strengthen their confidence and leadership skills, and access new opportunities for growth.
She is the architect of a “Pathway to Commercialization” framework designed to increase the number and quality of spin-out companies emerging from Research Performing Organizations. The model has been adopted across Europe and is delivering measurable impact—accelerating innovation, strengthening research commercialization pipelines, and driving the creation of high-growth, investor-ready ventures.
Helen holds a Master’s in Business Development and Entrepreneurship (from Ulster University, Belfast, and a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish from Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, where she also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Commendation). She lectures extensively in both academia and the private sector and regularly volunteers as a mentor on start-up and management development programs. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
Together with a group of entrepreneurs, she co-founded IDEATE Ireland, an all-Ireland, not-for-profit student competition designed to ignite innovation and socio-economic impact. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Helen chaired "Feed the Heroes", a national initiative that raised $1.5M to provide nutritious meals to frontline workers – entrepreneurship in action!
As the Founder and CEO of Alinea (A-LYNN-EE-A), an award-winning Irish company, Helen has earned acclaim for her expertise in early-stage venture development. Her business specializes in crafting tailored enterprise development programs for government agencies, corporations, and third-level academic institutions, with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Helen works extensively with female founders, providing strategic guidance and hands-on support to help them start, scale, and sustain successful businesses. Through programs, mentorship, and community building, she empowers women entrepreneurs to amplify their impact, strengthen their confidence and leadership skills, and access new opportunities for growth.
She is the architect of a “Pathway to Commercialization” framework designed to increase the number and quality of spin-out companies emerging from Research Performing Organizations. The model has been adopted across Europe and is delivering measurable impact—accelerating innovation, strengthening research commercialization pipelines, and driving the creation of high-growth, investor-ready ventures.
Helen holds a Master’s in Business Development and Entrepreneurship (from Ulster University, Belfast, and a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish from Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, where she also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Commendation). She lectures extensively in both academia and the private sector and regularly volunteers as a mentor on start-up and management development programs. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
Together with a group of entrepreneurs, she co-founded IDEATE Ireland, an all-Ireland, not-for-profit student competition designed to ignite innovation and socio-economic impact. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Helen chaired "Feed the Heroes", a national initiative that raised $1.5M to provide nutritious meals to frontline workers – entrepreneurship in action!
Speaking At
