Bank of England chief tops 2026 Powerlist as UK's most influential black person

Afua Kyei, the Bank of England's chief financial officer, has been named the UK's most influential black person. The 43-year-old is one of the UK's most senior finance executives, responsible for the Bank's financial control and funding reforms.

The BoE executive director topped the 2026 Powerlist, which honours the most influential individuals of African, African Caribbean, and African American heritage in the United Kingdom. Ian Wright, a former footballer who is new to the list, make-up artist Dame Pat McGrath, and actor Idris Elba are among the notable names on the list.

Kyei, who was recruited by the former Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, said the recognition was 'humbling'. The mother-of-four said that as she rose through the ranks, she noticed obvious differences in the workplace.

'I didn't see so many women in senior leadership roles with families,' she said. 'I know that there are a lot of women who believe they must choose between work and raising a family. We really support working families and working parents at the Bank of England, which is something I love about it.'

Kyei studied chemistry at Oxford University and was also awarded a Princeton University junior research fellowship in organic chemistry.

'You don't need to be a mathematician'

She was an investment banker before joining Barclays Bank, where she was the Chief Financial Officer for Mortgages during the global financial crisis. She joined the Bank of England in 2019 and is at the forefront of the bank's leadership and decision-making.

She said that her parents, who moved from Ghana to go to university aged 18, had been her best role models.

'My mother went to Liverpool, trained to be a midwife, and spent 40 years in the NHS. My father worked in the oil industry for a long time. I saw them juggling work and home. They instilled in us such strong values,' she said.

Kyei hopes to inspire more young people to consider banking as a career.

'You don't have to be a mathematician, you don't need to be an accountant, and you don't need to be an economist. Fresh perspectives are needed, and we are looking for the best people.'

She takes the top spot from last year's number one, tech entrepreneur Dean Forbes.

The 2026 Powerlist

According to Powerful Media, the annual Powerlist was first published in 2007 with the intention of providing role models for young black people. After three years, Powerlist founder Michael Eboda predicted that they would run out of people, but the opposite has occurred.

'Over the past 20 years, we've seen more influencers from the private sector than from the public sector or government, and that's a great tale of British success.'