Page 100 - 2018 Powerlist

Technology Baroness Oona King

Global Head of Diversity, YouTube

From UK politics to one of the top jobs in San Francisco tech,
Labour peer Oona is currently taking a leave of absence from
the Lords as global head of diversity for Silicon Valley giant
YouTube.
She took on the top job last year, hailing the “amazing
opportunity” to be working at the “future of broadcasting”.
At YouTube, Oona oversees the global video sharing
website’s diversity strategy across content, marketing,
branding and talent.
She was previously MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, a seat
she won in 1997 at the age of 29, making her the second ever
black female MP. She lost her seat at the 2005 election but
went on to have a successful career as a freelance journalist,
broadcaster and writer.
During her time in Parliament, Oona helped to change the
law in five areas, including housing and equalities policies.
In her first year in the House of Lords after being awarded a
peerage in 2011, she was nominated for Campaigning Peer of
the Year.
Before becoming an MP, Oona was a trade union
organiser, representing low-paid workers. She also spent five
years as a researcher at the European Parliament.
Oona has also been an executive board member at the
British Film Institute, and she is patron of the Rich Mix
Cultural Foundation, a £30 million project aimed at bringing
Paulette Rowe different communities together via art.

Managing Director,
Barclaycard Payment Solutions

Paulette took over at the helm of Barclaycard’s global
payment wing in 2012. In this role she leads the second
largest acquiring business in Europe as well as The Logic
group, the innovative transaction company Barclaycard
acquired at the end of 2014.
As the woman in charge of processing a third of card
payments in the UK she works with some of the biggest
names on the high street and online, including John Lewis
Partnership, Sainsbury’s, McDonald’s (won from rivals
Worldpay), Transport for London and Expedia.
Paulette has a wealth of financial services and
management experience. Prior to joining Barclaycard she
was Strategy Director for NBNK, an AIM-listed financial
investment company.
Paulette has spent a large part of her exceptional career in
consumer banking with the RBS Group and General Electric.
Born and raised in London, she has been active in the
not-for-profit sector for many years, including serving on
the board of the Prince’s Youth Business Trust in the West
Midlands and as a trustee at Community Service Volunteers.
She has chaired the Mayor’s Fund for London, the charity
which supports over 20,000 young Londoners across all
33 boroughs. She is listed in the Digital Banking Club’s
Power 50 of most influential thought leaders from European
financial services and in 2017 was named one of Payments
Source’s most influential women.
In March 2017 she was appointed to the Barclaycard
Executive Committee.

96 Powerlist 2018