Ian Thomas, chief executive of the City of London Corporation, has been named the most influential Black Briton on this year's Black Powerlist, the award body said.
Thomas, 57, is the first Black person to oversee the Square Mile's governing body in its more than 900-year history. The Corporation is an administrative body responsible for London's central financial district.
The award body said Thomas is "a respected public-service leader with over 30 years' experience in local government." The list recognises people of African and Caribbean heritage with the most power in the UK. Comfort Ero, president and chief executive of the International Crisis Group, ranks second.
Other names in the top ten include entrepreneurs Emma Grede and Steven Bartlett, and actor and filmmaker Sir Idris Elba. Comedian Sir Lenny Henry received a Lifetime Achievement award for co-founding Comic Relief, which has raised over £1.6bn since 1985.
Thomas said he secured his role 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.
Thomas oversees around 5,000 staff, the City of London Police, and 11,000 acres of open spaces including Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath. He was born in Sheffield to parents who arrived from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation.
Michael Eboda, the list's publisher, said the Powerlist "exists to show young people of African and Caribbean heritage what is possible, in fields they might never have considered."