Samir Patel

Samir is CEO of Comic Relief, where he is responsible for overall strategy and direction, collaborating across all areas of the organisation including fundraising, impact and operations.

A digital and innovation leader with decades of experience in putting people at the centre of organisations, Samir’s background is rooted in diversity, inclusion and human-centred design. He has pioneered co-creation approaches for global NGO’s, led innovation processes for charity fundraising and designed digital tools for community engagement, and has worked with Amnesty International, Oxfam, UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency, Plan International, WaterAid, Google, Co-op and Natural History Museum. He’s also been a steering committee member for Museum for the United Nations - UN Live, a new organisation that is radically re-thinking how to engage young people with the Sustainable Development Goals.

With degrees in both business and film, Samir sits at the intersection of strategy and creative, and previously was part of the executive team at Blue State, a values-led creative and digital agency. Samir lives in east London with his wife and two young children.