Hitesh Patel
Biography
Hitesh Patel was appointed Director of Transformation and Deputy Chief Executive for the Legal Aid Agency within the Ministry of Justice in April 2025
His career has spanned the private, public and international sector, leading large scale technology driven transformational business change.
His private sector career has been mainly with Diageo Plc a leading global consumer goods business, where I had various Director roles including Asia Pacific CIO and Global IT Strategy Director.
Hitesh’s first public sector role was at Swindon Borough Council. He has held various roles driving change and improving operational delivery in the Department for the environment, fishing and rural affairs (Defra) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). He worked at HMRC for ten years in various roles including; Change Director Customer Services, Programme Director, EU Exit Readiness, Director Race Delivery and Director for Regime Ownership.
Director of Transformation
The Director of Transformation is accountable for the strategic direction and delivery of the LAA Transformation Portfolio. The portfolio brings together recovery, security, service modernisation and policy implementation to redesign legal aid administration, creating more secure, resilient and efficient services that are easier to access and reduce the administrative burden on legal aid providers.