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 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, a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British 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.
YearPortraitNameOccupationCategoryNotability
2020Ismail AhmedBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & Entrepreneursfounder & chairman of WorldRemit
2019Ric LewisBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChief Exec & Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners
2018Gina MillerBusinessperson & ActivistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursActivist known for her work challenging Brexit
2017Tom IlubeBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursFounder of Crosssword Cyber Security, Africa Gifted Foundation
2016Ken Olisa, OBEBusinessperson & PhilanthropistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursLord-Lieutenant of Greater London
2015Karen Blackett, OBEBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursCEO of MediaCom UK
2014Malorie Blackman, OBEAuthorMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentWriter of over 60 childrens books and Children's
Laureate
2013David Adjaye, OBEArchitectArts, Fashion & DesignDesigner of the National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC
2012Tidjane ThiamBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursCEO of Prudential plc
2011Tidjane ThiamBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursCEO of Prudential plc
2010Baroness ScotlandAttorney GeneralPolitics, Law and ReligionFirst Female & Black person to be Attorney General for England and Wales
2008 Dr Mo IbrahimBusinessperson & PhilanthropistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChairman & Founder of Mo Ibrahim Foundation
2008 Baroness ScotlandAttorney GeneralPolitics, Law and ReligionFirst Female & Black person to be Attorney General for England and Wales
2007 Damon BuffiniBusinessperson & PhilanthropistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursPrivate equity baron at Permira
2007 Baroness ScotlandAttorney GeneralPolitics, Law and ReligionFirst Female & Black person to be Attorney General for England and Wales

2020 Powerlist

The 13th annual Powerlist was judged by a panel chaired by Dame Linda Dobbs and published in October 2019; sponsored by J.P. Morgan & Co., pwc, linklaters and The Executive Leadership Council.

2020 Rankings

Also in the Top 100, by Category
Arts, Fashion and Design
Business, Corporate, Financiers and Entrepreneurs
Media, Publishing and Entertainment
Politics, Law and Religion
Public, Third Sector and Education
Science, Medicine and Engineering
Sports
Technology

2019 Rankings

The 2019 Rankings were released in October 2018 and saw Meghan, Duchess of Sussex included in the list for the first time and named Ric Lewis as the most influential individual. For the full list see: Powerlist 2019
RankIndividualOccupationCategoryNotability
1Ric LewisBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChief Exec & Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners
2Sharon WhiteBusinessperson & EconomistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChief Executive at Ofcom
3Ismail AhmedBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursFounder & CEO of WorldRemit
4Jacky WrightBusinesspersonTechnologyChief digital and information officer at HMRC
5Sandie OkoroLawyerBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursSenior VP and general counsel at the World Bank Group
6Ebele OkobiPublic policy directorTechnologyPublic policy director, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey for Facebook
7Funmi OlonisakinProfessorPublic, Third Sector & EducationProfessor of Leadership studies, peace and conflict at King's College London
8Paulette RoweBusinesspersonTechnologyGlobal Head, Payments and Financial Services Partnerships, Facebook
9Edward Enninful, OBEEditor-in-ChiefMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentEditor-in-Chief British Vogue
10Richard IferentaBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursPartner at KPMG

2018 Rankings

The 2018 Rankings were released in October 2017 and saw Gina Miller named as the most influential black person in the UK. The list was compiled by a panel that included Dame Linda Dobbs and Tim Campbell and over half of the 100 people on the years list were women.
RankIndividualOccupationCategoryNotability
1Gina MillerBusinessperson & ActivistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursActivist known for her work challenging Brexit
2Ric LewisBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChief Exec & Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners
3Ismail AhmedBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursFounder & CEO of WorldRemit
4Sharon WhiteBusinessperson & EconomistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChief Executive at Ofcom
5Nira ChamberlainProfessional MathematicianPublic, Third Sector & EducationMember of Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
6Jacky WrightBusinesspersonTechnologyChief digital and information officer at HMRC
7Sandra WallaceLawyerBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursUK managing partner, DLA Piper
8Prof. Laura SerrantAcademic in NursingPublic, Third Sector & EducationProfessor of Nursing, Sheffield Hallam University
9Dr Shirley J ThompsonComposerPublic, Third Sector & Educationmusic composer, visionary and cultural activist
10Edward Enninful, OBEEditor-in-ChiefMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentEditor-in-Chief British Vogue

2017 Rankings

The 2017 Powerlist marked the 10th anniversary of the event, with a keynote speech made by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan 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.

2016 Rankings

The 2016 Powerlist named Ken Olisa, 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. The list named Karen 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 Huntand including business executive Olakunle Babarinde, ranked the 100 most influential Black Britons on merit with children's author Malorie Blackman, OBE first in the yearly ranking.
RankIndividualOccupationCategoryNotability
1Malorie Blackman, OBEAuthorMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentWriter of over 60 childrens books and Children's Laureate
2Ken Olisa,OBEBusinessperson & PhilanthropistBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChair of Restoration Partners
3Matthew Ryder QCBarristerPublic, Third Sector & EducationBarrister specialising in complex criminal cases and civil litigation
4Mo Farah, MBEAthleteSportsOlympic Gold Medalist
5Karen Blackett,OBEBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursCEO of MediaCom UK
=6Chuka UmunnaPoliticianPublic, Third Sector & EducationShadow Business Secretary & Labour MP for Streatham
=6Adam AfriyiePoliticianPublic, Third Sector & EducationConservative MP for Windsor
7Baroness Doreen LawrenceActivistPublic, Third Sector & EducationDirector of the Stephen Lawrence Trust
=8Idris ElbaActor & ProducerMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentActor
9Steve McQueen, CBEFilm DirectorMedia, Publishing & EntertainmentArtist & Director of 12 Years a Slave
10Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, MBESpace ScientistPublic, Third Sector & EducationAcademic Researcher at University College London

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 ranking Tidjane Thiam, CEO of FTSE 100 company Prudential plc.

2007-2011 Rankings

Prior to 2012, the Powerlist had a different format and was published in conjunction with newspaper The New Nation. 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.

2011 Powerlist

The 2011 Powerlist had a panel including Baroness Amos and Kwame Kwei-Armah who ranked Tidjane Thiam, CEO of FTSE 100 company Prudential plc first, with Diane Abbott MP ranking ninth.
RankIndividualOccupationCategoryNotability
1Tidjane ThiamBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursCEO of Prudential plc
2Dr Mo IbrahimBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursChairman & Founder of Mo Ibrahim Foundation
3Vivian HuntBusinesspersonBusiness, Corporate, Financiers & EntrepreneursDirector at McKinsey & Company
4-8DataNotAvailable
9Diane Abbott, MPPoliticianPolitics, Law and ReligionShadow Minister for Public Health and Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington
10DataNotAvailable

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 and now included men & women in a single table.

Top 10

2008 Powerlist

The 2008 Powerlist was compiled of 50 men and 50 women by a judging panel that included Baroness Amos and Kwame Kwei-Armah. 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 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