About me

Dr Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah, CEO Oxfam GB

I joined Oxfam GB as Chief Executive in January 2019.

I previously led CIVICUS, the Johannesburg-based alliance of civil society organisations with members in more than 180 countries. Prior to that, I spent four years as Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

I was born in Sri Lanka in the 1970s and was initially raised in a rural community without electricity or running water. My family was displaced by the onset of a brutal civil war and I spent time in Papua New Guinea and Australia, where I went to school and university.

I moved to the UK in 1998 and completed my Masters and Doctorate in international development at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

The contrast between the wealth and opportunity of life in the global north with my early years in rural Sri Lanka has given me a passion to take on the root causes of poverty, and I am committed to Oxfam’s long-standing approach to speaking out and taking action against injustice.

It feels like a moment in history when we need strong, independent civil society, and I hope that Oxfam’s new strategy will help us play our part in shaping a radically better world.

Oxfam has been close to my heart for many years –starting with raising money for Oxfam Australia as a child. Prior to joining as CEO, I had worked alongside Oxfam colleagues on numerous fronts, from addressing threats to civic space to co-founding the Fight Inequality Alliance.