The 2019 ''

Powerlist The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is ...

'' rankings were released in October 2018 and saw

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan wa ...

. included in the list for the first time, and named Ric Lewis as the most influential individual

Top 10

Outside Top 10

Also listed in the 2019 ''Powerlist'' were the following people, organised by industry: 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 and 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 ...

Chris Ofili Christopher Ofili, (born 10 October 1968) is a British Turner Prize-winning painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in T ...

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winning artist *

Delia Jarrett-Macauley Delia Jarrett-Macauley , also known as Dee Jarrett-Macauley, is a London-based British writer, academic and broadcaster of Sierra Leonean heritage. Her debut novel, ''Moses, Citizen & Me'', won the 2006 Orwell Prize for political writing, the fi ...

- Chair of the Caine Prize, writer and academic *

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 The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

Isaac Julien Sir Isaac Julien (born 21 February 1960Annette Kuhn"Julien, Isaac (1960–)" BFI Screen Online.) is a British installation artist, filmmaker, and distinguished professor of the arts at UC Santa Cruz. Early life Julien was born in the East End ...

, CBE - Artist and filmmaker *

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

, MBE - Poet, author, broadcaster *

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (born 1977) is a British painter and writer. She is best known for her portraits of imaginary subjects, or ones derived from found objects, who are painted in muted colours. Her work has contributed to the renaissance in pai ...

- Award-winning artist * Matthew Morgan - Founder of

Afropunk Festival Afropunk Festival is an annual arts festival that features music, film, fashion, and art produced by alternative black artists. The Afropunk Festival began in 2005, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. Afropunk Festivals have also been ...

* Pat McGrath - Founder of Pat McGrath Labs, make-up artist *

Valerie Brandes Valerie Brandes is a British publisher who is the founder and CEO of Jacaranda Books, a diversity-led publishing house established in 2012. She was born in London, and studied American and Commonwealth Arts before taking a master's degree in Pu ...

- Founder and CEO of Jacaranda Books Business, Corporate, Financiers and Entrepreneurs * 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 tr ...

* Brian Robinson - Senior managing director at

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...

* Bukola Adisa - Head of Framework and Design at

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

* Eric Collins - Head of Operations at Touch Surgery * Gary Stewart - Director, Telefonica Open Future and

Wayra Wayra is a technological innovation hub, which was started in Latin America and Spain in 2011 as an initiative of Telefónica's chief executive in Europe, José María Álvarez-Pallete. Wayra operates through 11 hubs in 10 countries within Telefó ...

UK * Heather Melville - Director and Head of Client Experience,

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 accounti ...

UK. * 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 ...

* 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 m ...

* 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 U ...

* Tunji Akintokun - Director at

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

leading mid-market sales and partnerships for Africa * Wol Kolade - Managing Partner,

Livingbridge Livingbridge is a mid-market private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of lo ...

* 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 ...

Media, Publishing and Entertainment *

Ade Adepitan Adedoyin Olayiwola "Ade" Adepitan (born 27 March 1973) is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. Ade ...

, MBE - TV presenter and Paralympic wheelchair basketball player *

Afua Hirsch Afua Hirsch (born 1981) is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for '' The Guardian'' newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. Early life Afua Hirsch was born in ...

- Journalist, author, broadcaster * Akala - Rapper, journalist, poet and activist *

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 ...

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 receive ...

, MBE - Writer, director *

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 *

David Harewood David Harewood MBE (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor and presenter. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012), and as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Hank Henshaw / ...

, MBE - Actor * David Olusoga, OBE - Historian, joint Creative Director of Uplands Television Ltd * Dumi Oburota - Founder of

Disturbing London Disturbing London is an entertainment company founded by cousins Dumi Oburota and Tinie Tempah in 2006. Whilst operating primarily as a record label, the company also has arms in brand consultancy, artist management, event management, music pub ...

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 ...

* Gary Younge - Journalist and author *

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

, OBE - Actor, writer, producer, musician and DJ * Jacqueline Simmons - Executive editor at

Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a 1 ...

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 * Kanya King, CBE -CEO/Founder,

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

* Marcus Ryder - Chief International Editor of China Global Television Network Digital *

Mo Abudu Mosunmola Abudu, also known as ''Mo Abudu'', (born 11 September 1964), is a Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant. She has been described by Forbes as "Africa's Most Successful Woman", and rated ...

- CEO/Executive Chair, EbonylifeTV *

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series ''Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film ''28 Days Later'' (2002 ...

, OBE - Actor * Paulette Simpson - Executive, Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, Jamaica National Group; Executive Director, The Voice Media Group *

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 and DJ *

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 Guard ...

- Journalist, author * Simon Frederick - Artist, photographer, director *

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 Len ...

- Actor, writer, campaigner * Stormzy - Grime artist *

Thandie Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...

- Actor * Tunde Ogungbesan -

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. ...

...

head of diversity and inclusion * Vanessa Kingori, 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 ...

'' *

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including "World of O ...

- Songwriter * Yolisa Phahle - CEO,

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

Politics, Law and Religion * Baroness

Floella Benjamin Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, (born 23 September 1949GRO Register of Marriages: SEP 1980 14 0207 LAMBETH – Keith D. Taylor=Floella K.Y. Benjamin) is a Trinidadian-British actress, singer, presenter, author, businesswoman, ...

DBE, DL - Peer,

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, Policy maker, campaigner for children's rights *

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

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 o ...

for Streatham * Grace Ononiwu, CBE - Crown Prosecutor * 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 ...

* Dr Kathryn Nwajiaku - Co-Director at Development Results * David Lammy, MP -

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, Wal ...

Public, Third Sector and Education * Beverley Lewis, OBE - Co-Founder and Director of Operations, ACLT (African Caribbean Leukemia Trust) * Dr Cheron Byfield - Governor and Trust Member of

King Solomon International Business School King Solomon International Business School is a Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form school located in Birmingham, England, on the old site of Waterlinks House; opening in 2015. It is a multi-denominational Christian school, although it takes in st ...

* 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 ...

, lawyer and businessperson *

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 ...

- Campaigner, actress * Nero Ughwujabo - Special Adviser to the Prime Minister

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 cabi ...

* Nira Chamberlain - President of Institute of Mathematics and its Applications * Orin Lewis, OBE - Co-founder and chief-executive, ACLT (African Caribbean Leukemia Trust) * Patricia Gallan - Retired Metropolitan Police Service assistant commissioner leading specialist crime and operations * 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 registe ...

* David Waboso - Managing director of

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

's Digital Railway Science, Medicine and Engineering * 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 ...

* Dr Ian Nnatu - Consultant psychiatrist at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central L ...

and Medical Director at Cygnet Hospital Harrow * 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 ...

at St George's Hospital * Dr Sylvia Bartley - Senior Global Director, Medtronic Philanthropy * 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 ...

* 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 ...

Sports * Anthony Joshua, OBE - Boxer *

Denise Lewis Denise Lewis (born 27 August 1972) is a British sports presenter and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was twice Commonwealth Games champion, ...

- TV presenter and Olympic Gold medal-winning athlete *

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 *

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 Mic ...

, MBE -

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

champion *

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his ...

- Former NBA player * Sir

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

- Olympic Gold medal-winning athlete Technology * Baroness

Oona King Oona Tamsyn King, Baroness King of Bow (born 22 October 1967) is a business executive and former British Labour Party politician. She was a Labour Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow from 1997 until 2005. Early life Oona King was ...

- Strategy for equity, diversity, inclusion & integrity for

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

* Ian Greenstreet - Founder and Chairman, Infinity Capital Partners and Member on the Advisory Board,

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

* Janet Thomas - Founder and CEO of TouchFX at Infinity Capital Partners * Mariéme Jamme - CEO, SpotOne Global Solutions and Advisory Board Member, Data-Pop Alliance * Martin Ijaha, CBE - Founder, Neyber * Nneka Abulokwe, OBE - Founder and CEO, MicroMax Consulting

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Powerlist''

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 ...

Biographical dictionaries Lists of British people Yearbooks