The 13th annual ''

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 ...

'' 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 coun ...

and The Executive Leadership Council.

Top 10

Outside Top 10

Also listed in the 2020 ''Powerlist'' were the following people, organised by industry: Arts, Fashion and Design *

Adwoa Aboah Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah (born 18 May 1992) is a British fashion model. In December 2017 she appeared on the cover of British '' Vogue''. She has also been on the cover of '' American Vogue'', '' Vogue Italia'', ''Vogue Poland'', and ''i-D''. ...

- fashion model and founder of Gurls Talk *

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 Enli ...

, 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 ...

* Duro Olowu - 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 Augu ...

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 ...

, OBE - poet, author, broadcaster * 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 ...

* Valerie Brandes - 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 tri ...

Arunma Oteh Arunma Oteh is a Nigerian economist. She was the Treasurer and a Vice President of the World Bank (2015–2018). She became the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria in January 2010. In this position she wa ...

, OON - academic scholar,

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics ...

, former Treasurer and Vice President of the

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 Inte ...

* 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 ...

* Camille Drummond - Vice President, Global Business Services at BP * Eric Collins - CEO and Founding Member, Impact X Capital Partners * Gary Stewart - Director, Telefonica Open Future & Wayra UK * Jason Black (J2K) - co-founder of Crep Protect and co-owner of Crepe and Cones * 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 gove ...

* Netsai Mangwende - Head of Finance for Great Britain, Willis Towers Watson * 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 ...

* Patricia Lewis - Managing Director & Head of European Loans and Special Situations Sales,

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 ...

* 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 ...

* 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 p ...

* Tavaziva Madzinga - CEO,

Swiss Re Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...

UK & Ireland * Tevin Tobun - founder and CEO, GV Group Gate Ventures * Wol Kolade - Managing Partner, Livingbridge * Yvonne Ike - Managing Director and Head of Sub Saharan Africa region,

Media, Publishing and Entertainment * Ade Adepitan, 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 S ...

- journalist, author, broadcaster * Akala - rapper, journalist, poet and activist * Anne Mensah - 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 2021 ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

News anchor *

David Olusoga David Adetayo Olusoga (born January 1970) is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and film-maker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and contribu ...

, OBE - historian, Joint Creative Director of Uplands Television Ltd * Femi Oguns, 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 a ...

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 *

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

, OBE - actor, writer, producer, musician and DJ *

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 ...

* Lorna Clarke - Head of Production,

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available on ...

* 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'' (200 ...

, 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 - 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 *

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 (magazine), Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Nast, Condé Montrose Nast. Bri ...

'' * Yolisa Phahle - CEO, General Entertainment, Naspers Ltd 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 Westminster ...

, policy maker, campaigner for children's rights *

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 -

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

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, Walthams ...

* Dr Sandie Okoro - Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel,

* Grace Ononiwu, CBE - Chief Crown Prosecutor, West Midlands * 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 - Head of International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Secretariat,

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

* Martin Forde, QC - barrister * 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 Church ...

- Chaplain to the Speaker of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

* Segun Osuntokun - Managing Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Public, Third Sector and Education * Beverley De Gale, OBE & Orin Lewis, OBE - Founders, ACLT (African Caribbean Leukemia Trust) * Dr Cheron Byfield - Governor and founder 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 ...

and CEO Excell3 * Dr Dayo Olukoshi, OBE - Principal, Brampton Manor Academy * Dr

Margaret Casely-Hayford Margaret Henrietta Augusta 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 = () , underg ...

, Non-Executive Director, Co-op Group *

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 ...

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 ...

- campaigner, actress *

Nira Chamberlain Nira Cyril Chamberlain (born 17 June 1969) is a British mathematician based in Birmingham, UK. He is a Principal Consultant at SNC-Lavalin. Early life and education Born in Birmingham, Chamberlain always enjoyed mathematics at school and, d ...

- President of Institute of Mathematics and its Applications * Professor

Funmi Olonisakin Funmi Olonisakin (born 8 February 1965) is a British Nigerian scholar, who is a Professor of leadership, peace and conflict at King's College London, and an Extra-Ordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria. She is the founder and former D ...

- Vice-President and Vice-Principal International and Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at King's College London * Lord Woolley - Co-founder/Director, Operation Black Vote * 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 f ...

and member of

BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...

Science, Medicine and Engineering * Dame

Donna Kinnair Professor Dame Donna Kinnair DBE (born 1960 or 1961) is a British nurse and former Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). She has specialised in child protection, providing leadership in major hospital tru ...

- CEO & General Secretary,

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

* Dr Emeka Okaro - Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist * 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 ...

* 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 cranio ...

* 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 ...

& Clinical Director for Violence Reduction, NHS * 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 ...

* Dr Sylvia Bartley - Senior Global Director, Medtronic Philanthropy * Prof.

Laura Serrant Laura Maria Serrant, (born 1963) is a British nurse and academic. She is currently Regional Head of Nursing for North East and Yorkshire at Health Education England and Professor of at Manchester Metropolitan University where she was previously ...

, 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 ...

* Prof.

Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE was England's first Chief Midwifery Officer and Professor of Midwifery at King's College London and London South Bank University. Early life and career Dunkley-Bent received her diploma in midwifery at the Royal C ...

, 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 th ...

Sports *

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 *

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 *

Eniola Aluko Eniola Aluko (born 21 February 1987) is a football executive, commentator, and former professional player. She is the first Sporting Director for Angel City FC of the American National women's soccer league and formerly held the position of Spo ...

- Footballer *

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 f ...

- former NBA player *

Nicola Adams Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired List of undefeated boxing world champions, with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 201 ...

, OBE - boxer *

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, S ...

- footballer Technology * 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 * 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 ...

- Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion,

Snap Inc. Snap Inc. is an American camera and social media company, founded on September 16, 2011, by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown based in Santa Monica, California. The company developed and maintains technological products and services, ...

* 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 Pa ...

* 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 ...

* 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

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Top 10

Outside Top 10

References

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