Les O'dea, Operations Director, Comic Relief

Les joined Comic Relief as the Operations Director in 2011 after a long career in the Royal Air Force. During his time with the RAF, he worked in a large number of countries and in a wide variety of roles, including extensively in Africa.

He saw operational service in the Gulf region and in Afghanistan. In 2004, he led the UK military assistance to the Asian Tsunami in Indonesia and again for the Pakistan earthquake in 2005.

As the Operations Director he is responsible for Campaign Management, which ensures all the complex support is in place for the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief events; Future Media and Technology, which provides the vital systems needed to collect and process donations and to support the full range of work at Comic Relief; Human Resources which ensures we manage and employ our people in the best possible way; and the Engagement and Internal Communications Team which ensures we continually improve our processes, engagement and communication.

In his spare time, Les is a keen private pilot, and when not in the air he likes nothing better than to be on the hills, walking with his wife and their Border Collie.

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