In 2014, Laurie Lee was appointed CEO of CARE International UK – a charity that fundraises for short-term disaster relief and implements long-term programmes to eradicate poverty. CARE’s policy and advocacy work, fundraising and programme management that occurs on a global scale is managed in the US and UK. His focus at CARE has been on human resources to “ensure we have the best people to do the job we do, to support our teams on the ground in over 70 developing countries”. Lee also sights his underlying beliefs in “economic development, gender equality and people holding governments accountable” as influential to his role. Previously, he worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation leading on policy, advocacy and government relations in Africa. He was also deputy director and foreign policy adviser on Africa to Tony Blair, helping to negotiate key agreements on debt, aid and HIV and AIDS reached during the UK’s presidency of the G8 in 2005.
