The Chief Executive of the City of London Corporation, Ian Thomas CBE, has been named as the UK’s most influential Black Briton in this year’s Black Powerlist awards.

Thomas, who grew up in Sheffield, is the first Black person to oversee the Square Mile’s government services in its more than 900-year history, leading some 5,000 staff and serving as principal adviser to the Corporation’s elected members.

The City of London Corporation is the municipal governing body of Square Mile, the financial heart of the capital. Ian Thomas CBE occupies one of the most senior leadership positions in the City.

The 2027 Black Powerlist recognised his influence through this role, saying he was “a respected public-service leader with over 30 years’ experience in local government”.

Other influential names listed alongside Thomas include entrepreneurs Emma Grede and Steven Bartlett, as well as actor and filmmaker Sir Idris Elba.

Now over 20 years old, the Black Powerlist celebrates those who have broken through barriers to reach leadership roles and provide inspiration for younger Black people.

“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 that he secured the role at the head of the City of London Corporation through a “thorough, transparent and merit-based process”, following seven interviews and an election.

Speaking to Jerome Williams in honour of Black History Month, Ian Thomas CBE said that “he became Town Clerk at the start of 2023, and the announcement of my appointment rightly focused on my achievements, because they are what brought me here. But my presence as a Black man in this role also carries significance. It has never happened here before.”

Thomas was born in Sheffield to Jamaican parents who emigrated to the United Kingdom as part of the Windrush Generation.

Following the child sexual exploitation scandal in the wake of the Jay Report, Thomas helped transform children’s services in Rotherham’s Council.

He served as the Strategic Director of Rotherham Borough Council’s Children and Young People’s Services (DCS), being responsible for the transformation of the service from Inadequate (bottom 6%) to Good with outstanding features (top 16%) within three years.

Thomas received a CBE in 2019 for his contribution to public service in this role.