Richard Blewitt, Executive Director of International, British Red Cross
Richard joined the British Red Cross as Executive Director of International in February 2021. He leads over 185 staff and is driving the organisation’s International Strategy. He previously was with the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) where he was Head of Delegation and Permanent Representative to the UN, New York since July 2018. He led a team working on evidence-based advocacy around the UN Climate Summit and the launch of the Risk Informed Early Action Partnership (REAP).
Before joining the IFRC, Richard served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, a post he has held for five years.
Richard has also been active in the World Economic Forum for four years. He has also held several key leadership posts with humanitarian agencies such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as Director of Movement Cooperation then Acting Director of Policy and Communications. He was also consultant Advisor with the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
