Lena Patel

Lena Patel is Deputy CEO of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), where she leads the organization's strategic engagement with the international business community and oversees RBIJ's work on criminal justice reform in the United Kingdom.  

With more than 25 years of experience in stakeholder engagement, public affairs, and corporate relations across both the public and private sectors, Lena has built a career at the intersection of business, policy, and social impact. Her diverse professional background includes roles at the Commission for Racial Equality, where she worked on private sector policy; the Greater London Authority, where she led the Mayor's Private Sector Team; and Nesta, where she managed corporate affairs. Lena also served as Head of Public Affairs for myLotto24, part of the ZEAL Group, where she led international public affairs and corporate social responsibility activities across the business. Throughout her career, she has developed extensive expertise in building strategic partnerships, influencing policy, and driving collaboration between businesses, governments, and civil society organizations. 

Lena holds a BA (Hons) in Law and Business and an LLM in International and Commercial Law from the University of Sheffield. She is a mentor with One Million Mentors and is an alumna of The Aspen Institute UK.