Top 10 Black Brits on the Powerful Media 2027 Powerlist 

Powerful Media has unveiled its 2027 Powerlist, recognizing 100 influential people of African and Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom.

Founded in 2007 by media entrepreneur Michael Eboda, the annual ranking celebrates Black British achievement across business, politics, law, technology, science, arts, culture and sport. The initiative also aims to broaden perceptions of success and highlight role models for the next generation.

The 2027 edition features leaders shaping public policy, international security, global business, technology and entertainment. City of London Corporation chief executive Ian Thomas CBE takes the top position, followed by International Crisis Group president Dr. Comfort Ero and Crown Prosecution Service director general Professor Grace Ononiwu CBE.

Here is a closer look at the 10 honourees leading this year’s ranking.

1. Ian Thomas CBE 

Ian Thomas CBE is the 51st town clerk and chief executive of the City of London Corporation. Appointed in 2023, he is the first Black person to lead London’s financial district. 

The City of London Corporation provides local services such as housing, education, planning and culture. It also owns and manages over 11,000 acres of green space, including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest. He leads more than 4,000 staff and oversees the City of London Police. The corporation’s charitable arm, City Bridge Foundation, awards more than £30 million a year in grants. Thomas also promotes the U.K.’s financial and professional services sector, which supports roughly 2.5 million jobs nationwide. 

Thomas was born in Sheffield to parents who emigrated from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation. He rose to seniority after decades of work in public service. As the deputy CEO and strategic director of Children and Young People’s Services at the Derbyshire County Council, Thomas focused on improving educational resources for children. Thomas was awarded a CBE in 2019 for his work as the strategic director of the Rotherham Council’s Children and Young People’s Services. There, he transformed the agency’s response services for victims of child sexual exploitation, taking it from the bottom 6% in the country to the top 16%. Thomas later served as the chief executive of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, overseeing public services and a £1.2 billion regeneration program. His recognition as the top Black Briton reflects his unyielding dedication to improving public services across the country. 

2. Dr. Comfort Ero 

Dr. Comfort Ero is president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, a global organization that works with governments and international institutions to prevent and resolve deadly wars. 

The Crisis Group monitors developments in over 70 countries and collects insights from political leaders and local communities to assess risk and the potential for violence. Ero oversees this field research and then transforms that intelligence into practical advice to prevent escalation, protect civilians, and create space for negotiation. Under her leadership, the group has tracked crises in Sudan, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and more, with particular attention to overlooked regions. Ero was appointed President and CEO in 2021, after joining the International Crisis Group in 2001 and serving in several leadership positions, including interim vice president and Africa program director. After serving the organization for 10 years in roles such as interim Vice President and Africa Program Director. She is the first Black woman to lead the Crisis Group. 

Ero’s family history shaped her interest in international peacekeeping and security. She was born in England to Nigerian parents, who travelled to the U.K. to study. However, when the Nigerian Civil War broke out in 1967, they were forced to stay. When the war finally subsided, Ero was sent to live in Lagos, Nigeria, at the age of two. She credits her father and uncle for steering her toward academics. At the London School of Economics, Ero conducted her Ph.D. research on post-colonial interventions and independence in Africa. During her career, Ero worked as a policy adviser for the United Nations Mission in Liberia from 2004 to 2007. She also served as the deputy Africa program director for the International Center for Transitional Justice. 

3. Professor Grace Ononiwu CBE 

Grace Ononiwu is the director general of legal delivery at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), an independent organization responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. 

Ononiwu graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in law, and qualified as a solicitor in 1991. Before entering public service, she initially worked in a private practice in High Wycombe. Throughout her career in public service, Ononiwu has been a trailblazer. In 2005, she became the first Black chief Crown Prosecutor, leading the Northamptonshire region. She later led the East of England and the West Midlands. Ononiwu also served as the director of legal services for the CPS. In 2025, she became the first director general of legal delivery, leading the organization’s legal and operational functions. Her role informs how prosecutors across England and Wales prepare cases, make decisions and deliver justice. 

Beyond her courtroom and administrative achievements, Ononiwu is an advocate for diversity and structural inclusion. As the former chair of the National Black Crown Prosecution Association, she has consistently used her platform to mentor underrepresented legal professionals and modernize institutional cultures. The Black Solicitors Network awarded her a Lifetime Achievement Award. She also earned national recognition for her legal work, receiving an OBE in 2008, followed by a CBE in 2019. In 2025, she returned to her alma mater as Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire. 

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4. Emma Grede 

Emma Grede is the CEO and co-founder of Good American and a founding partner of SKIMS. As a businesswoman and serial entrepreneur, she is renowned for helping build celebrity-backed brands and bringing radical inclusivity to the fashion industry. 

Raised by a single mother in Plaistow, Grede grew up struggling with dyslexia. She enrolled at the London College of Fashion at 16 but left before graduating to gain industry experience in branding and marketing. In 2008, she co-founded ITB Worldwide, a talent management and entertainment marketing agency. This scaled her experience in managing brand images and connecting brands with celebrity ambassadors. In 2016, she pitched and co-launched Good American with Khloe Kardashian. The denim brand generated $1 million in sales on its opening day. Subsequently, she joined forces with Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede to launch the shapewear brand SKIMS, where she is the chief product officer. 

Grede’s cultural footprint extends far beyond retail brands. She made television history as the first Black female investor on ABC’s Shark Tank and has appeared as a guest on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. As the chair of the Fifteen Percent Pledge and a board member of the Obama Foundation, she is committed to advancing systemic equity and economic opportunities for underrepresented founders. Grede hosts the podcast Aspire with Emma Grede, and wrote the book Start With Yourself, published in 2026. 

The Power List Top Ten

5. Pamela Maynard OBE 

Pamela Maynard OBE is a technology executive with over two decades of experience in business strategy, digital innovation and enterprise scale. She is chief AI transformation officer for Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS). 

Maynard grew up outside of London, the daughter of Windrush-generation parents from Barbados. After studying management science at university, Maynard secured an internship at IBM. She then joined Oracle’s graduate program, where she received an award for doubling Oracle’s U.K. business in just two years. Pivoting into strategy and consulting, Maynard held roles at firms such as EY and Capgemini before joining Avande, the Accenture and Microsoft joint venture, in 2008. Over the next 16 years, she rose from head of enterprise applications and infrastructure consulting in the U.K. to area president for Europe, Africa, and Latin America. She became global CEO in 2019, leading more than 60,000 professionals through technology shifts, the pandemic, and securing global gender pay equity. 

In 2024, Maynard took on a newly created role at Microsoft. As the company’s first chief AI transformation officer, she guides how Microsoft and its customers adopt AI. She also helps global enterprises navigate cultural and operational change while keeping people at the center. Maynard was appointed OBE in 2026 for her contributions to business and technology. 

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6. Steven Bartlett 

Steven Bartlett is a digital entrepreneur and, most famously, the host of the hit podcast The Diary of a CEO. His media empire is consolidated under his holding company Steven.com, which was valued at $425 million in a 2025 funding round. 

Born in Botswana and raised in Plymouth, England, Bartlett dropped out of Manchester Metropolitan University to pursue entrepreneurship. At 22, he co-founded Social Chain, a social media marketing agency that he scaled globally and took public at age 27. Since stepping down as the CEO in 2020, Bartlett has moved from behind the scenes to center stage. His flagship podcast is one of the world’s most popular. The Diary of a CEO has more than 19 million YouTube subscribers and over 1.5 billion views on the platform. Bartlett also founded Flight Story, a media, marketing, and communications company that helps scale brands. Flight Fund is its $100 million venture capital firm that holds stakes in multinational companies like SpaceX, ZOE, Huel, and Whoop. Through this fund and his personal investments, Bartlett has backed over 60 companies. 

Bartlett has also made his mark on mainstream television as the youngest-ever investor on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and also appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank. Both his books, The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, and Happy Sexy Millionaire quickly became Sunday Times bestsellers. Most recently, he partnered with Authentic Brands Group to launch OBSN, a major venture deploying up to $400 million into creator-led brands and intellectual property. 

7. Josh Siaw MBE 

Josh Siaw MBE is an international lawyer and a partner in the Global Debt Finance Practice at White & Case. He also leads the firm’s Africa practice, spearheading the flow of capital and investment into Africa. 

Born in London to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Siaw overcame a humble upbringing on a South London council estate through sheer dedication to his education. After graduating with a law degree from King’s College London and completing BPP Law School, he quickly ascended the ranks of elite law firms. Siaw became director of White & Case’s Africa practice in 2012 at just 28, and the firm’s youngest-ever global partner two years later. He advises sovereign governments, central banks, and multinational corporations on historic cross-border finance deals. This includes when White & Case represented Namibia on its $500 million sovereign bond issue in 2011, and Rwanda’s first Eurobond, a $400 million deal, in 2013. 

Even more, in 2018, Siaw was the sole lawyer in Prime Minister Theresa May’s delegation to Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. He also supports U.K. trade efforts as the chair of the government’s Africa Investors Group, which connects British businesses with African markets. Siaw founded the Siaw Foundation in 2023 to offer students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the U.K. and Africa both scholarships and mentorship. Queen Elizabeth II appointed him an MBE in 2019. 

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8. Sir Idris Elba OBE

Sir Idris Elba OBE is an acclaimed actor, producer, director and musician who has used his influence to champion high-impact global philanthropy. While applauded for his onscreen presence, Elba is also a leading voice in Pan-African development. 

Born in Hackney, London, to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother, Elba discovered his passion for acting through a Prince’s Trust Grant. This helped him secure his place at the National Youth Music Theatre. His breakout moment arrived in 2002 when he portrayed Russell “Stringer” Bell on HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire. Elba most famously starred as DCI John Luther in the BBC psychological crime series Luther, a role that earned him a Golden Globe Award. He famously played Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in 2013, and the Commandant in Beasts of No Nation in 2015. 

But Elba’s work stretches far beyond entertainment. Through the Akuna Group, he has built partnerships to grow Africa’s creative economy. This includes partnering with Google to launch AI-powered creator programs and an AI-driven filmmaking course across five African countries. Driven by a mission to localize wealth, Elba is also building production studio hubs in Zanzibar and Ghana. Through the Hope Foundation, co-founded with his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, he supports services for young people in the U.K. The Hope Foundation launched major anti-violence campaigns in the U.K. They successfully lobbied for stricter weapon bans and increased youth service funding. As a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N.’s Fund for Agricultural Development, he routinely advocates for funding for rural small-scale farmers facing climate-driven food insecurity. 

9. Ije Nwokorie 

Ije Nwokorie is a prominent American-born corporate executive, brand strategist, and creative leader who serves as the CEO of Dr. Martens plc. He is currently the only Black CEO leading a FTSE 250 company. 

Born in the U.S., he grew up in Nigeria. Nwokorie studied architecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, before earning his Master of Architecture from Columbia University in New York. He initially applied his design thinking to brand consulting, climbing to the position of global CEO at Wolff Olins, a global brand consultancy. In this position, he led the agency’s offices across London, New York, Dubai, and San Francisco. Apple later recruited him. He spent six years there as senior director of Apple retail from 2018 to 2024, working on how the brand connects with customers. After three years as an independent non-executive director at Dr. Martens, he joined as chief brand officer in 2024 before becoming CEO in 2025. 

Nwokorie is also a dedicated philanthropist and diversity advocate. He serves on the Board of Trustees of charity: water U.K., a nonprofit that brings clean drinking water to communities in need. Committed to representation in the arts, he also spent years as the Chair of Trustees for the Chineke! Orchestra, Europe’s first professional classical ensemble with a majority of Black, Asian, and diverse musicians. 

10. Ola Fashade

Air Vice-Marshal Ola Fashade is a military officer and electronics engineer who serves as the director of strategy and military digitalization at the U.K. Ministry of Defence. 

Fashade was born in North London and graduated with a degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from Brunel University before joining the Royal Air Force (RAF). His early career focused on air defense systems and tactical communications. He grew into command positions within the Tactical Communications Wing. Fashade is a veteran of multiple operational tours. He was deployed to the Middle East and South Asia, including Helmand Province. He served as commander of the UK Joint Force Communications and Information Systems Group in Qatar, and later as Commander of RAF Wyton and 90 Signals Unit. 

Before his promotion to the two-star rank of Air Vice-Marshal, Fashade served as assistant chief of staff for Communications within the Permanent Joint Headquarters. There he led the digitization of active military operations. In his current role, he is tasked with modernizing the U.K.’s armed forces through integrating technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, and quantum computing.