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The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of
African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
or
African Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
heritage in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is not limited to British-born citizens and includes immigrants to the UK.


History and methodology

The list was first created in 2007 by Michael Eboda, then editor of the ''
New Nation ''New Nation'' was a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community. Launched in 1996, the newspaper was Britain's Number 1-selling black newspaper. The paper was published every Monday. ''New Nation'' was initially lau ...
'', a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the
Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...
community, as a way to profile and celebrate influential Black Britons, and inspire and influence the next generation. The first Powerlist was compiled after six months of research and debate where 400 people of influence were whittled down to 50 women and 50 men, then ranked into respective top tens with the results announced in August 2007. During the first few editions, separate top 10 rankings were produced for both Female and Male candidates and top ranking individuals could continue to be ranked the following year. From 2012 the 50 highest rated nominees, along with updates on the previous year's Powerlistees from rank 2–100, are then ranked by an independent panel in the summer, with the list being produced each autumn. Each year's highest-ranking individual is added to the Powerlist Hall of Fame


Hall of Fame

A list of every Powerlist highest ranking individual.


2020s


2022 Powerlist Rankings

The panel of judges was led by the retired high court judge Dame
Linda Dobbs Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951), is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales. Biogr ...
.


Top 10


2021 Powerlist Rankings

The 2021 ''Powerlist'' came in a year in which public debate on racial injustice had increased, with the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement and global protests against police brutality. Therefore, chief executive Michael Eboda decided that the 14th ''Powerlist'' would honour those who have used their voice to advocate against racial injustice. Due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the awards were held virtually on November 17, 2020 and hosted by
Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unti ...
, OBE. The event was held in partnership with
J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
who announced they would invest £2 million in support to London non-profit organisations headed by black and minority ethnic leaders; further sponsors included
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, and
Linklaters Linklaters LLP is a multinational law firm, headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1838, it is a member of the "Magic Circle" of elite London-headquartered law firms. It currently employs over 5,000 lawyers across 31 offices in 21 count ...
. The independent panel of judges named Sir
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
as the most influential due to both his sporting excellence and his advocacy in light of the BLM movement; additional highlights of the Top 10 included Prof.
Kevin Fenton Professor Kevin Andrew Fenton, (born 19 December 1966"Kevin Fenton." ''Contemporary Black Biography''. Vol. 87. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale ''Biography In Context''. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.) is a Public Health Physician and Infectious Disease Epidemi ...
and Dame Donna Kinnair for their work fighting against
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Top 10


Also in the Top 100, by category

Arts, Fashion and Design *
Chi-chi Nwanoku Chinyere Adah "Chi-chi" Nwanoku (; born June 1956) is a British double bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enl ...
, OBE - Classical Musician & Founder of
Chineke! Orchestra Chineke! Orchestra () is a British orchestra, the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians. The word Chineke derives from the Igbo language meaning "God". The orchestra was founded by m ...
*
Duro Olowu Duro Olowu is a Nigerian-born British fashion designer. He is best known for his innovative combinations of patterns and textiles that draw inspiration from his international background. Early life and education Olowu was born in Lagos, Niger ...
- Fashion Designer * Dr Shirley J Thompson, OBE - Composer, Conductor and Reader in Music,
University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...
* Pat McGrath, MBE - Make-up Artist & founder of Pat McGrath Labs *
Francesca Hayward Francesca Hayward (born 4 July 1992) is a Kenyan-born English ballet dancer and actress. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. In 2019, she starred as Victoria the White Cat in the musical film '' Cats'', an ...
- Principal Dancer,
The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
*
Grace Wales Bonner Grace Wales Bonner (born 1990) is an English fashion designer, whose work "proposes a distinct notion of cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit".
- Fashion Designer, Founder and Creative Director at Wales Bonner *
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Kobna Kuttah Holdbrook-Smith (born 23 August 1977) is a Ghanaian-British actor known for his film, television, theatre and voice work. Early life Holdbrook-Smith was born in Accra, Ghana. He grew up in Frimley, Surrey, England, where he li ...
- Actor and Founding Member of 'Act for Change' *
John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film '' Attack the Block ...
- Actor *
Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.
, OBE - Actor and Producer Business, Corporate, Financiers and Entrepreneurs * Femi Bamisaiye - CIO Homeserve * Nadja Bellan-White - Global CMO at
Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...
Group * Jason Black (J2K) - Co-founder of Crep Protect and Co-Owner of Crepe and Cones * Eric Collins - CEO and Founding Member, Impact X Capital Partners * Camille Drummond - Vice President, Global Business Services at BP * Yemi Edun - Founder/CEO of Daniel Ford & Co. * Emeka Emembolu - Senior VP-North Sea BP * Dean Forbes - President, The Access Group * Pamela Hutchinson - Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion,
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
* Yvonne Ike - Managing Director and Head of Sub Saharan Africa region,
BofA Securities BofA Securities, Inc., previously Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), is an American multinational investment banking division under the auspices of Bank of America. It is not to be confused with Merrill, the stock brokerage and trading pla ...
* Adrian Joseph - Managing Director, Group AI & Data Solutions,
BT Group BT Group plc (trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broa ...
* Wol Kolade - Managing Partner, Livingbridge * Lindelwe Lesley Ndlovu - CEO, AXA Africa Specialty Risks,
Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

Tara Lajumoke
- Managing Director,
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
* Netsai Mangwende - Head of Finance for Great Britain,
Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance advisor company. The company was founded in 2016, following a merger of the Willis Group and Towers Watson. Overview WTW operates in more than 140 co ...

Tunde Olanrewaju
- Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
* Paulette Rowe - CEO, Integrated and E-commerce Solutions,
Paysafe Group Paysafe Limited (formerly known as Optimal Payments PLC) is a multinational online payments company. The group offers services both under the ''Paysafe'' brand and subsidiary brands that have become part of the group through several mergers an ...
* Roni Savage - Managing Director, Founder of Jomas Associates * Alan Smith - Global Head of Risk Strategy and Chief of Staff, Global Risk at
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
* Tevin Tobun - Founder and CEO, GV Group Gate Ventures * Sandra Wallace - UK Managing Partner,
DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of ...
* Dame Sharon White - Chairman,
John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...
Media, Publishing and Entertainment * Kamal Ahmed - Editorial Director,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
* Akala - Rapper, journalist, poet and activist *
Amma Asante Amma Asante (born 13 September 1969) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, former actress, and Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts, who was born in London to parents from Ghana. Her love for the film industry started when she received ...
, MBE - Writer, Director * Lorna Clarke -
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Controller of Pop Music *
Reni Eddo-Lodge Reni Eddo-Lodge (born 25 September 1989) is a British journalist and author, whose writing primarily focuses on feminism and exposing structural racism. She has written for a range of publications, including ''The New York Times'', ''The Guar ...
- Journalist, author *
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Black ...
- Writer, Professor of Creative Writing at
Brunel University London Brunel University London is a Public university, public Research universities, research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian era, Victorian engineer and pioneer of the I ...
*
Sir Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...
- Actor, writer, campaigner *
Vanessa Kingori Vanessa Kingori is the Chief Business Officer, Condé Nast Britain and Vogue European Business Advisor. She is also British Vogue's Publishing Director. Prior to that, Kingori was the Publisher of British '' GQ'' across all platforms. She has w ...
, MBE - Publisher, ''
British Vogue British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...
'' *
Dorothy Koomson Dorothy Koomson (born 1971 in London) is a contemporary English novelist, who is of Ghanaian descent. She has been described as "Britain's biggest selling black author of adult fiction". Biography Koomson has two degrees in Psychology and Journ ...
- Author *
Anne Mensah Anne Mensah is a British broadcasting executive, and vice-president of content at Netflix. Mensah was educated at Sedgehill School in Catford, south London, followed by the University of Exeter, where she earned a degree in American and Commonwealt ...
- Vice-president of Content UK,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
* Hugh Muir - Senior assistant editor, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' *
Femi Oguns Olufemi Temitope Ogunsanwo (born 28 October 1977), known as Femi Oguns, is a prominent British agent and former actor who founded Identity School of Acting and Identity Agency Group. Background Femi Oguns obtained a joint honours degree in R ...
, MBE - Founder and CEO of
Identity School of Acting Identity School of Acting is a part-time drama school that was founded in London, England by Femi Oguns in 2003. A second branch and campus opened in Los Angeles, California in 2018. Identity School of Acting began in 2003 with 10 students at ...
* Marcus Ryder - Executive producer of Multimedia
Caixin Caixin Media () is a Chinese news website based in Beijing known for investigative journalism. Caixin means "New Fortune" in Chinese. Structure The founder and publisher is Hu Shuli, a former Knight Fellow in journalism at Stanford University ...
* Paulette Simpson - Executive, Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, Jamaica National Group; Executive Director, The Voice Media Group * Annette Thomas - CEO ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
Media Group *
Charlene White Charlene Denise White (born 22 June 1980) is a British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter, best known for presenting ''ITV News'' programmes. She has been an anchor on ''Loose Women'' since 2021ITN News Anchor *
Reggie Yates Reginald (Reggie) Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has worked at the BBC in ra ...
- Actor, broadcaster & DJ *
Gary Younge Gary Andrew Younge , (born January 1969) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and academic. He was editor-at-large for ''The Guardian'' newspaper, which he joined in 1993. In November 2019, it was announced that Younge had been appointe ...
- Journalist and author; Prof. of Sociology
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
Politics, Law and Religion * Stephanie Boyce - Deputy Vice-President
Law Society of England and Wales The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...
* Martin Forde, QC -
Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
* Rev
Rose Hudson-Wilkin Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin, (born 19 January 1961) is a British Anglican bishop, who has been suffragan Bishop of Dover in the diocese of Canterbury - deputising for the Archbishop - since 2019: she is the first black woman to become a Chur ...
-
Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop i ...
*
David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...
, MP - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice,
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
* Harry Matovu, QC -
Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
* Dr Kathryn Nwajiaku - Director, Politics and Governance
Overseas Development Institute ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the p ...
* Dr Sandie Okoro - Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel,
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
* Segun Osuntokun - Managing Partner,
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...
* Joshua Siaw, MBE - Partner,
White & Case White & Case LLP is a global law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide and has been ranked among the top ten firms worldwide by revenue. History The firm was launched on May 1, 1901 wh ...
*
Patrick Vernon Patrick Philip Vernon (born 1961)"Patrick Vernon"
, Sankofa 2013: Teachers' R ...
, OBE - Political activist * Marcia Willis Stewart, QC - Director, Birnberg Peirce & Partners Public, Third Sector and Education * Sonita Alleyne, OBE - Master,
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
* Dr Margaret Casely-Hayford, CBE - Chair,
Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
, Chancellor of
Coventry University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...
, Non-Executive Director, Co-op Group * Nira Chamberlain - President of Institute of Mathematics and its Applications * Professor
Patricia Daley Patricia O. Daley is a Jamaican-born British human geographer and academic, specialising in forced migration, political ecology, and Africa. She is Professor of Human Geography of Africa at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, ...
- Vice Principle of
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
* Dr
Anne-Marie Imafidon Anne-Marie Osawemwenze Ore-Ofe Imafidon (born 24 June 1990) is a British-Nigerian computer scientist. Imafidon founded and became CEO of Stemettes in 2013, a social enterprise promoting women in STEM careers. She was a computing, mathematics a ...
, MBE - CEO and Co-Founder
Stemettes Stemettes is a social enterprise which encourages girls and young women aged 5–25 to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM). Stemettes runs panel events, hackathons, the Student to Stemette mentoring programme supp ...
* Professor Funmi Olonisakin - Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, Founding Director of African Leadership Centre *
Marvin Rees Marvin Rees (born April 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Mayor of Bristol since 2016. Early life and education Marvin Rees was brought up in Bristol, partly in Lawrence Weston and Easton, by his British mother. ...
-
Mayor of Bristol The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...
* Lord Woolley - Co-founder/Director,
Operation Black Vote Operation Black Vote (OBV) is a British non-partisan and not-for-profit national organisation, established in 1996 to address the Black British and ethnic minority democratic deficit. OBV has recruited church leaders to persuade people to register ...
Science, Medicine and Engineering * Dr Sylvia Bartley - Senior Global Director, Medtronic Foundation * Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, OBE - Chief Midwifery Officer,
NHS England NHS England, officially the NHS Commissioning Board, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the ...
* Dr Jacqui Dyer, MBE - President of
Mental Health Foundation The Mental Health Foundation is a UK charity, whose mission is "to help people to thrive through understanding, protecting, and sustaining their mental health." History The Mental Health Foundation was founded in 1940 as the Mental Health Res ...
* Dr Paula Franklin - Chief Medical Officer at
Bupa Bupa , legally British United Provident Association Limited, is an international health insurance and healthcare group with over 38 million customers worldwide. Bupa's origins and global headquarters are in the United Kingdom. Its main countrie ...
* Dr Martin Griffiths - Lead trauma surgeon,
Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and spe ...
& Clinical Director for Violence Reduction,
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
* Dr Ian Nnatu - Consultant
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
* Dr Joy Odili - Consultant
plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...
* Dr Emeka Okaro - Consultant
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
* Prof. Laura Serrant, OBE - Head of Department and Professor of Community and Public Health Nursing at
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
* Dr Samantha Tross - Consultant
Orthopaedic Surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
Sports *
Dina Asher Smith Geraldina "Dina" Rachel Asher-Smith, (; born 4 December 1995) is a British sprinter. She is the fastest British woman on record. She won a gold medal in the 200 metres, silver in the 100 metres and another silver in the 4×100 m relay a ...
- British record-holding sprinter *
Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
, OBE - Boxer *
Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United and the England national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his explosive ath ...
- Footballer and campaigner against child poverty *
Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...
- Footballer Technology * Nneka Abulokwe, OBE - Founder and CEO, MicroMax Consulting * Ije Nwokorie - Senior Director,
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
* Ebele Okobi - Public policy director, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey for
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
*
Jacky Wright Jacky Wright is a British technology executive, chief digital officer and a corporate vice president at Microsoft US. Biography Jacky Wright was born in London to Jamaican parents and grew up there in Tottenham. Her family moved to the US when ...
- Chief digital officer & Corporate VP at
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...


2020 Powerlist

The 13th annual Powerlist was judged by a panel chaired by Dame
Linda Dobbs Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951), is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales. Biogr ...
and published in October 2019; sponsored by J.P. Morgan & Co.,
pwc PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
,
linklaters Linklaters LLP is a multinational law firm, headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1838, it is a member of the "Magic Circle" of elite London-headquartered law firms. It currently employs over 5,000 lawyers across 31 offices in 21 count ...
and The Executive Leadership Council.


2010s


2019 Rankings

The
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Rankings were released in October 2018 and saw Meghan, Duchess of Sussex included in the list for the first time and named
Ric Lewis Ric Lewis is a British businessman. He is a founding partner of Tristan Capital Partners, a British property investment firm, and its predecessor, Curzon Global Partners (1998–2008). He is also the founder and chairman of a registered charity, ...
as the most influential individual. For the full list see: Powerlist 2019


2018 Rankings

The 2018 Rankings were released in October 2017 and saw
Gina Miller Gina Nadira Miller (' Singh; born 19 April 1965) is a Guyanese-British business owner and activist who initiated the 2016 '' R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' court case against the British government over its au ...
named as the most influential black person in the UK. The list was compiled by a panel that included Dame
Linda Dobbs Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951), is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales. Biogr ...
and Tim Campbell and over half of the 100 people on the years list were women.


2017 Rankings

The 2017 Powerlist marked the 10th anniversary of the event, with a keynote speech made by
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
,
Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...
were released in October 2016 and named as the most influential black person in the UK. The list was decided by an independent panel led by former high court judge Dame
Linda Dobbs Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951), is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales. Biogr ...
.


2016 Rankings

The 2016 Powerlist named Sir
Ken Olisa Sir Kenneth Aphunezi Olisa (born 13 October 1951) is a British businessman and philanthropist. He is the first mixed heritage Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. He founded and led the AIM-listed technology merchant bank Interregnum and now lea ...
, OBE at the most influential Black Briton for his charitable work and his achievement becoming the first black Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.


2015 Rankings

The 2015 Powerlist was announced in November 2014 and took place in the Lord Mayor of London's residence, with a keynote speech given by then Home Secretary,
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
. The list named
Karen Blackett Karen Tracey Blackett (born 7 August 1971) is a British Barbadian businesswoman who works in the advertising industry and is the CEO of Group M. She became the Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth in October 2017. Early life Blackett ...
, OBE as the most influential Black Briton, marking her as the first Black businesswoman to be awarded the accolade and also saw two people ranked in both third & eighth position.


2014 Rankings

An independent panel of five judges, headed by management consultant
Vivian Hunt Dame Vivian Yvonne Hunt (born July 1967) served as a senior partner for consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where she provided strategic advice to leading firms in the private, public and third sectors, and also served as Managing Partner for th ...
and including business executive Olakunle Babarinde, ranked the 100 most influential Black Britons on merit with children's author
Malorie Blackman Malorie Blackman is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethica ...
, OBE first in the yearly ranking.


2013 Rankings

The sixth annual Powerlist edition was announced in October 2012, ranking Britons who have "the ability to alter events and change lives in a positive way" and 20,000 hard copies were distributed to schools across the UK.


2012 Rankings

The 2012 Powerlist edition was announced in November 2011, and the judging panel was chaired by
Baroness Amos Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...
. It ranked Tidjane Thiam, CEO of FTSE 100 company
Prudential plc Prudential plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary list ...
, as number one.


2011 Powerlist

The 2011 Powerlist had a panel including
Baroness Amos Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...
and
Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unti ...
who ranked Tidjane Thiam, CEO of FTSE 100 company
Prudential plc Prudential plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary list ...
first, with
Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. A member of the Labour Party, she served in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Sh ...
MP ranking ninth. Others listed included the financier Donna St Hill, the peer
Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale Victor Olufemi Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, (; born 21 July 1962) is the former Chief Executive of the social care enterprise Turning Point, current Chair of the NHS Confederation and was one of the first individuals to become a People's Pee ...
, the judge Dame
Linda Dobbs Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs, DBE (born 3 January 1951), is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales, who served from 2004 to 2013. Dobbs was the first non-white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales. Biogr ...
, the pharmaceutical executive Yvonne Greenstreet, the investor Tsega Gebreyes, the make-up artist Dame Pat McGarth, the strategy consultant Dame
Vivian Hunt Dame Vivian Yvonne Hunt (born July 1967) served as a senior partner for consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where she provided strategic advice to leading firms in the private, public and third sectors, and also served as Managing Partner for th ...
, the venture capitalist Wol Kolade and CPS Chief Inspector
Mike Fuller Michael Darwin Fuller (born April 7, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers. Fuller grew up in Mobi ...
.


2010 Powerlist

The 2010 Powerlist was released in September 2009 and marked the beginning of the annual list being published in the Autumn prior. The launch took place in the Cabinet room at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
and now included men & women in a single table.


2000's

Prior to 2010, the Powerlist had a different format and was published in conjunction with newspaper The ''
New Nation ''New Nation'' was a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community. Launched in 1996, the newspaper was Britain's Number 1-selling black newspaper. The paper was published every Monday. ''New Nation'' was initially lau ...
''. During its first few years, separate top 10 rankings were produced for both female and male candidates. In addition, top-ranking individuals were not promoted to the 'Hall of Fame', meaning they could continue to be ranked the following year.


2008 Powerlist

The 2008 Powerlist was compiled of 50 men and 50 women by a judging panel that included
Baroness Amos Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...
and
Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unti ...
. It was published in October 2008 by Powerful Media sponsored by JP Morgan, and was the first annual powerlist report. Copies were sold in store and sent to the UK's 1000 largest companies with a reception held at the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
to celebrate those on the list. To qualify, entrants had to be a British citizen or based in Britain.


Top 10 Men


Top 10 Women


2007 Powerlist

The first edition of the Powerlist was compiled after six months of research and debate where 400 people of influence were whittled down to 50 women and 50 men, then ranked into respective top tens and announced in August 2007.


Top 10 Men


Top 10 Women


See also

*
Black British elite The Black elite is any elite, either political or economic in nature, that is made up of people who identify as of Black African descent. In the Western World, it is typically distinct from other national elites, such as the United Kingdom's ari ...
*
Black British people Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...


References

{{reflist, 30em


External links


''Powerlist''
Publications established in 2007 Yearbooks Biographical dictionaries Lists of British people 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom Black elite