Afua Kyei, the Bank of England’s chief financial officer, has been named the UK’s most influential black person.
The 43-year-old ICAS-qualified accountantis one of the UK’s most senior finance leaders, in charge of the financial governance of the Bank’s £1 trillion balance sheet and funding reforms.
The BoE executive director topped the 2026 Powerlist, which recognises the most powerful people of African, African Caribbean, and African American heritage in the UK.
Other influential names on the list include former footballer Ian Wright, who’s new to the list, make-up artist Dame Pat McGrath, and actor Idris Elba.
Kyei, who was recruited by the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in his former role as the governor of the Bank of England, said topping the list was “incredibly humbling”.
The mum-of-four said growing up she saw obvious differences in the workplace.
She said: “I didn’t see so many women in big leadership roles who had families and I know that there are lots of women who think that they need to choose between work and having a family.
“What I love about the Bank of England is that we really support working families and working parents.”
Kyei studied chemistry at Oxford University and was also awarded a junior research fellowship by Princeton University in organic chemistry.
The annual Powerlist was first published in 2007, with its aim to provide role models for young black people, according to Powerful Media.
Powerlist founder Michael Eboda said he thought they would run out of people after three years, but the opposite has happened.
“Over the last 20 years we’ve seen more influencers from the private sector as opposed to the public sector and that’s a great story of success in Britain”.
