City of London chief tops UK Black Powerlist
Ian Thomas, who heads the City of London Corporation, tops the Black Powerlist in its 21st year.
City of London chief tops UK Black Powerlist
Ian Thomas, chief executive of the City of London Corporation, has been named the UK’s most influential Black Briton in this year’s Black Powerlist awards.
The 57-year-old is the first Black person to lead the Square Mile’s governing body in its more than 900-year history.
The City of London Corporation is the administrative body responsible for London’s central financial district, and it is headed by its own Lord Mayor.
Thomas leads the 2027 Black Powerlist, which honours the most powerful people of African and Caribbean heritage in the UK.
The awards body described him as “a respected public-service leader with over 30 years’ experience in local government”.
Among the other prominent figures in this year’s top ten are entrepreneurs Emma Grede and Steven Bartlett, along with actor and filmmaker Sir Idris Elba.
Comedian Sir Lenny Henry has also been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award for co-founding Comic Relief, which has raised over £1.6bn since 1985.
Now in its 21st year, the Black Powerlist celebrates people who have overcome barriers to reach leadership positions, inspiring future generations in the process.
“It exists to show young people of African and Caribbean heritage what is possible, in fields they might never have considered,” said Michael Eboda, the list’s publisher.
Thomas said he only secured the top job at the City of London Corporation in 2022 after seven interviews and an election.
“When I started my journey in public service, I never, ever thought, [not] in a million years, that I’d be recognised in this way,” he told the BBC.
As chief executive, he oversees about 5,000 staff and is responsible for the City of London Police, 11,000 acres of open spaces including Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath, and promoting the UK’s financial and professional services sector.
Thomas was born in Sheffield to parents who settled there after leaving Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation.
“They worked incredibly hard and instilled that sense of discipline and respect, and that’s the core of how I do business,” he said of his upbringing.
As a child, Thomas wanted to become a footballer and took part in trials alongside Alan Shearer.
Looking back on his own change of direction, Thomas joked that it was about “following dreams and if they don’t come true… there’s always something else”.
Before joining the City of London Corporation, Thomas was chief executive of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, where he oversaw public services and a £1.2bn regeneration programme.
He was made a CBE in the 2019 New Year Honours in the aftermath of the Rotherham Abuse scandal for transforming children’s services while serving as strategic director for children and young people at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.
Thomas succeeds last year’s holder, Afua Kyei, the Bank of England’s chief financial officer and executive director, and is joined on this year’s list by Comfort Ero, president and chief executive of the International Crisis Group, who is in second place.