Helena Foulkes

Foulkes was born in Providence in 1964 and earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1986 and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[1][6] She briefly worked in investment banking and at Tiffany & Co. before business school.[1]

Foulkes joined CVS in 1992 and spent a 25-year career at the company, rising to executive vice president and chief marketing officer and later chief health care strategy and marketing officer.[1][6] In February 2018 she became chief executive officer of Hudson's Bay Company, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, and she left the company in March 2020 after a deal with shareholders to take it private.[1] She has served on the boards of Home Depot, Salesforce and Costco Wholesale, and had not previously held elected office before her campaigns for governor.[6]

Foulkes announced a run for governor in October 2021 and finished second in the 2022 Democratic primary, losing to McKee by just under 3,900 votes.[1] She announced a second campaign in September 2025 and won the September 9, 2026 primary over McKee, carrying every municipality in the state.[1][6] Her platform includes the millionaire's tax to fund housing, an audit of increased energy bills and higher Medicaid reimbursement rates.[1][3]