Powerlist 2021

The 14th annual Powerlist, which names the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom, was judged by an independent panel and published in November 2020, sponsored by JP Morgan & Co, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Linklaters, Refinitiv, Herman Miller, Facebook and The Executive Leadership Council.[1] The 2021 Powerlist came in a year in which public debate on racial injustice had increased, with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) 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.[2] Furthermore, the rankings highlighted the work of healthcare professionals during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which also resulted in the awards being held virtually on 17 November 2020, hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah.[1]

The award event was held in partnership with JP Morgan & Co., who announced they would invest £2 million in support to London non-profit organisations headed by black and minority ethnic leaders.[1][3] The independent panel of judges named Sir Lewis Hamilton as the most influential awardee, due to both his sporting excellence and his advocacy in light of the BLM movement,[4] with additional highlights of the Top 10 including Prof. Kevin Fenton and Dame Donna Kinnair for their work fighting against COVID-19.[5]

Top 10

Rank Individual Occupation Category Notability
1 Lewis Hamilton Formula One driver Sports Seven-time World Champion Formula One driver
2 Kevin Fenton Public-Health Leader Public, Third Sector and Education Regional Director, Public Health England London
3 Stormzy Grime music artist Media, Publishing & Entertainment Award-winning musician
4 Michaela Coel Actor, screenwriter, director and producer Media, Publishing & Entertainment Creator, co-director and producer of BBC/HBO series I May Destroy You
5 Edward Enninful Editor-in-chief Media, Publishing & Entertainment Editor-in-Chief British Vogue
6 Donna Kinnair Public-Health leader and nurse Public, Third Sector and Education CEO & General Secretary, Royal College of Nursing
7 Jacqueline McKenzie Human rights lawyer Politics, Law and Religion Director at Centre for Migration Advice and Research and McKenzie, Beute and Pope
8 David Olusoga Historian, writer, broadcaster Media, Publishing and Entertainment Historian and TV presenter
9 Afua Hirsch Writer, broadcaster, and former barrister Media, Publishing and Entertainment Journalist for The Guardian, author, broadcaster
10 Richard Iferenta Businessperson Business, Corporate, Financiers & Entrepreneurs Partner at KPMG

Also in the Top 100, by category

Arts, Fashion and Design

Business, Corporate, Financiers and Entrepreneurs

  • Femi Bamisaiye - CIO Homeserve
  • Nadja Bellan-White - Global CMO at Vice Media Group
  • Jason Black (J2K) - Co-founder of Crep Protect and co-owner of Crepe and Cones
  • Eric Collins - CEO and founding member of 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
  • Yvonne Ike - Managing Director and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa region, BofA Securities
  • Adrian Joseph - Managing Director, Group AI & Data Solutions, BT Group
  • Wol Kolade - Managing Partner, Livingbridge
  • Lindelwe Lesley Ndlovu - CEO, AXA Africa Specialty Risks, Lloyd's of London
  • Tara Lajumoke - Managing Director, Financial Times
  • Netsai Mangwende - Head of Finance for Great Britain, Willis Towers Watson
  • Tunde Olanrewaju - Senior Partner McKinsey & Company
  • Paulette Rowe - CEO, Integrated and E-commerce Solutions, Paysafe Group
  • Roni Savage - Managing Director, founder of Jomas Associates
  • Alan Smith - Global Head of Risk Strategy and Chief of Staff, Global Risk at HSBC
  • Tevin Tobun - Founder and CEO, GV Group Gate Ventures
  • Sandra Wallace - UK Managing Partner, DLA Piper
  • Dame Sharon White - Chairman, John Lewis Partnership

Media, Publishing and Entertainment

Politics, Law and Religion

Public, Third Sector and Education

Science, Medicine and Engineering

Sports

Technology

  • Nneka Abulokwe - Founder and CEO, MicroMax Consulting
  • Ije Nwokorie - Senior Director, Apple
  • Ebele Okobi - Public policy director, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey for Facebook
  • Jacky Wright - Chief digital officer & Corporate VP at Microsoft

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lewis Hamilton named the most influential black person in Britain by The Powerlist 2021". Voice Online. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. ^ Siddique, Haroon (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  3. ^ Lavender, Jane (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". mirror. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ Baldwin, Alan (17 November 2020). "Success means nothing without change, says Hamilton". Reuters. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.