Three UK citizens with Ghanaian heritage have been named among the top ten UK's most influential people of African, African Caribbean, and African American heritage by the Powerlist for 2025. They include: Bernard Mensah, Afua Kyei and Joshua Siaw.
The yearly Powerlist was first released in 2007 with the intention of giving young Black people role models, according to Powerful Media.
Bernard Mensah is the President of International for Bank of America and also the co-chair of Africa Advisory Board of The King’s Trust International. He is also a member of the board of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Afua Kyei is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director responsible for Finance, Strategy, Performance, and Tax for Bank of England. Afua was awarded CFO of the Year 2021 by the Women in Finance Awards UK.
Joshua Siaw is one of the most influential black lawyers in the UK and he is the youngest person on the Powerlist this year.
Sitting at the top of the Powerlist 2025 is Dean Forbes; a man who was twice homeless as a teenager before becoming a multimillionaire entrepreneur. Forbes takes the first position from British Vogue editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful who is also of Ghanaian heritage.
The full Powerlist for 2025:
1. Dean Forbes, chief executive at software firm Forterro
2. Bernard Mensah, president of international at Bank of America
3. Afua Kyei, chief financial officer at the Bank of England
4. Emma Grede, chief executive at fashion brand Good American
5. Joshua Siaw, partner at law firm White & Case
6. Tunde Olanrewaju, senior partner at consultancy McKinsey
7. Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham, founders of insurance firm Marshmallow
8. Adejoke Bakare, chef-owner at Michelin-starred restaurant Chishuru
9. Justin Onuekwusi, fund manager at St. James’s Place
10. Pamela Maynard, chief AI transformation officer at Microsoft
