Abhi Sambari
Founder & CEO
Abhi Sambari is our Founder and CEO. His entrepreneurial path has been long, winding, and anything but conventional.
For starters, Abhi grew up in Mumbai, India and was raised by socially conscious parents. His dad is a doctor who worked wildly long hours but still found time to provide medical services to lower income Mumbai residents. This influence made an indelible impact on Abhi, who cared about helping others from a young age. He joined the workforce during the IT boom in India, and that was his first glimpse into the ways big companies can do good for their communities. He found his footing working for multiple Fortune 500 companies such as Johnson Controls, Anthem and Aetna. But his love for tech coincided with a burgeoning interest in entrepreneurship. He enrolled at the UCLA Anderson School of Management where he received his MBA and the inspiration he needed to propel him forward.
His first venture, Vercel originated as an e-commerce and marketing platform, but has since evolved into a hybrid advertising agency and production company that has created over 700 videos for a large swath of impressive clients such as Netlix, Amgen, UCLA and Public Storage. But Abhi won’t stop there. He wants to continue to grow and make an impact with his work, feeding both his entrepreneurial instincts and his urge to help others. He is determined to push his entrepreneurial skills even further with the creation of The Change You Want to See, and hone in on the intersection of business and doing good within the community. The Change You Want to See manages to scratch both of these itches for Abhi, as a successful business that creates content and awareness for nonprofits and socially conscious companies.
Darren Mann
Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer
Darren is our Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer.
Darren is an award-winning Director/Editor/Producer. His films include: THIS COLD LIFE for TIME Inc, which premiered at Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto and went on to win several audience awards at festivals around the world. It was picked up by Sundance/AMC Channel. AMERICAN DREAM: DETROIT – Singer Michael Bolton takes a look at the remarkable economic comeback taking place in downtown Detroit; STATE OF CONTROL (Filmbuff), taking a first-hand look at the China/Tibet crisis in the hi-tech age. His undercover cameras were some of the only ones to film inside Tibet since the state-mandated media blackout in the region.
In addition to films, Darren has directed/produced over 50 hours of broadcast television for such networks as Nat Geo, Discovery, VH-1, and ESPN, including a 26-episode animal conservation series, UNCAGED. His work has led him to such areas as Antarctica, Nepal, Europe, China, India, Africa, Tibet, The Arctic Circle and the jungles of Borneo, Panama and South America. Darren’s passion for real characters and human behavior is at the very heart of his filmmaking and that’s what he brings to The Change You Want To See. He holds a degree in Film from Emerson College in Boston, and currently lives in the beachside town of Santa Monica with a cranky hairless cat.
Grant Bell
David Odle
