He takes on the role in November and will lead the sales team in the UK. Patel will report to Marco Bertozzi, vice president of sales for Europe.
Patel replaces Chris Forrester who was the UK country manager for just six months. His departure followed shortly after the arrival of Bertozzi in January.
Patel joined Auto Trader in 2013 as digital sales director. He became commercial director in July 2015, and took on his current role in March.
Before Auto Trader he was at Microsoft for three years. He has also worked at Emap and the Financial Times.
Patel's appointment follows Zuzanna Gierlinska joining as head of programmatic for Europe last month.
Bertozzi said: "Rak’s wealth of experience and digital sales background is exactly what we need to drive the Spotify’s UK sales team forward, and we are excited to welcome him."
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