Page 87 - Powerlist 2020

Sonita Alleyne OBE

Master, Jesus College, Cambridge Public Sector & Third Sector

In September 2019, former media executive and
entrepreneur Sonita Alleyne became the first black person to
lead an Oxbridge college after being elected master of Jesus
College, Cambridge.
She also becomes the first female head in the history
of the college, which was founded in 1496 and is one of
Cambridge’s oldest.
Sonita, who is chairwoman of the British Board of Film
Classification’s management council, read philosophy at
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and has previously served
as a BBC trustee.
Born in Barbados and brought up in Leytonstone, east
London, she was co-founder of the production company
Somethin’ Else, which she led as chief executive from 1991
to 2009.
The firm produced original content for the BBC and
commercial radio and, by 2008, was cited as the biggest
syndicator of radio programmes in the UK outside of the
BBC. It distributed shows to more than 200 stations in 65
countries.
Lord Woolley of Woodford the world’s first retail radio station, Radio Music Shop.
Sonita led many projects, including the development of
Co-founder/Director, Operation Black Vote She started her media career in Jazz FM’s publicity
department, going on to become a producer there.
Sonita has chaired both the national arts charity Sound
2019 was a really wonderful year for Simon, who was and Music and the Radio Sector Skills Council. She sits on
first knighted in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, then the UK Culture Comm
awarded a Life Peerage to sit as a Crossbencher in the Also in 2019 she became chair of the British Board of Film
House of Lords by Prime Minister Theresa May in her 2019 Classification. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the
Resignation Honours List. Arts, a governor of the Museum of London and in 2004 was
It was a fitting reward for the work he has done over awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting.
the years, which culminated in 2018, when Theresa May
announced Simon would become Downing Street’s Chair of
the Race Disparity Audit Advisory group.
He was tasked to lead the group into its next phase.
The group was set up following the publication of the
Race Disparity Audit, which uncovered persistent race
inequalities that impact thousands of BAME individuals.
The group has also been tasked to bring communities closer
to local and national government.
This built on Simon’s success with Operation Black Vote’s
high-profile ‘blacksdontvote.com’ campaign during the
last general election. A collaboration with media partners
Saatchi & Saatchi, actor/rapper Riz Ahmed and SBTV’s
Jamal Edwards, the campaign raised awareness around
what impact black people could have if they voted.
The campaign received national media coverage and
successfully lobbied political leaders to state how they could
address racial inequalities. Crucially, the effort saw a record
number of BAME voters, a rise in the number of BME MPs –
a record 52 – and the election of two Operation Black Vote
alumni: Tan Dhesi and Marsha de Cordova.
Simon was the government adviser on the Baroness Ruby
McGregor review into race equality and employment and
worked on the David Lammy review into racial injustice in
the criminal justice system. He is also commissioner for race
on the Equality and Human Rights Commission
Lord Woolley received a Knighthood in 2019 for his
services to race equality.

p powerful-media.com 87owerful-media.com 87