The shortlist for the 2026 Ethnicity Awards has been announced, recognising individuals, employers and organisations across the UK for their contribution to promoting ethnic diversity, inclusion and representation in business and society.
This year’s shortlist brings together some of the UK’s most influential figures from entertainment, sport, media and business alongside employers leading the way on workplace inclusion and equality. Supported by Official Partner Lloyds Banking Group, the Awards celebrate the people and organisations driving meaningful progress on ethnic representation, opportunity and inclusion across British society.
PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY CATEGORY FINALISTS
Among those competing for the Inspirational Public Figure of the Year award are television presenter Gok Wan, supermodel and campaigner Naomi Campbell, and former British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, all recognised for using their platforms to inspire positive change and champion greater representation.
The Broadcaster of the Year category features radio and television presenter Clara Amfo alongside presenter and dancer Oti Mabuse, honouring their contribution to British broadcasting and their influence both on and off screen.
In music, chart-topping artists Olivia Dean and Charli XCX are among those shortlisted for Artist of the Year, recognising their creative success and cultural impact over the past year.
The sporting honours are equally competitive, with England footballer Bukayo Saka and seven-time Formula One World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton among the finalists for Sports Personality of the Year.
RECOGNISING INCLUSIVE EMPLOYERS
Alongside the public figure awards, the Ethnicity Awards continue to recognise employers, senior leaders, employee networks and workplace champions advancing ethnic inclusion across the UK. This year’s corporate shortlist includes organisations such as Ashurst, Experian, Jacobs, London South East Colleges, Platform Housing Group, Bank of Ireland, Sussex Police, National Rail and Channel 4, reflecting the breadth of organisations embedding inclusion across sectors.
“Every year the Ethnicity Awards shine a spotlight on the people and organisations creating meaningful change across the UK. This year’s shortlist reflects the incredible breadth of talent, leadership and influence that exists across every sector, from entertainment and sport to business and public life,” said Sarah Garrett, Founder of the Ethnicity Awards. “Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted. Their achievements are not only worthy of recognition, but also serve as an inspiration to future generations.”
Rachel Osikoya, Director of Inclusion at Lloyds Banking Group, added: “Making the most of the widest possible talent pool strengthens decision-making, innovation and long-term business performance. That’s why we’re proud to support the Investing in Ethnicity Awards and recognise the organisations helping to create access to opportunity across the UK.”
ETHNICITY AWARDS 2026 FINALISTS
The full list of 2026’s finalists by corporate, community and public categories include:
CORPORATE CATEGORIES
Champion Ally
- Brendan Flood, Group Head of HSE, Ramboll
- Elaine Bowker, Principal & Chief Executive, The City of Liverpool College
- Hannah Gilroy, Business Manager, Nationwide Building Society trading as Virgin Money
- Jayne Opperman, CEO, Consumer Lending, Lloyds Banking Group
- Lucy Bond, Chief of Staff and Interim Chief People Officer, Man Group
- Paul Jones, UKS Business Applications Delivery Lead, Avanade
- Robert Cottage, Director – HSBC Private Bank HNW London & South, HSBC UK
- Sam White, Head of SME, Barclays Bank, Barclays
- Simon Morton, Director, Kids Content & Editorial Standards, Warner Bros. Discovery
- Stacey Etwareea, People Partner, Tesco
Exceptional Inclusion
- Anthony Pinagapany, People Capability Lead, BAE Systems
- Brinda Srigananathan, Head of Talent Engagement & Coaching, Man Group
- Carina Mardenborough, DE&I and CSR Partner (UK), Safran Actuation Systems UK Limited
- Faizza Rumani, EDI Specialist, Network Rail
- Fealicia Greenland, UK DEI Business Partner, Muller UK & Ireland
- Jamie Taylor-Louro, Inclusion Manager, Serco
- Philio Hocking, Next Generation Talent Consultant, Lloyds Banking Group
- Raveena Dhadwal, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Manager, KPMG UK
- Samah Rafiq, Inclusion Advisor, EMEA, Warner Bros. Discovery
- Sana Butt, Early Careers TA Specialist, DLA Piper
Future Leader
- Alexander Matambo, Account Manager, Bloomberg
- Dominick Wee Ming, Discretionary Construction Associate, Coutts
- Emma Osman, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Google Cloud UK
- Francis Nwofor, Cloud & AI Specialist, Microsoft
- Jaskirat Singh, Leasing Manager, BMW
- Jeannysse Biyoghe, Enterprise PMO Manager, Platform HG
- Kesiya Johny, Senior Marketing Transformation Consultant, Capgemini
- Leonie O’Conner, Commercial Lead, Whitbread
- Rochelle Keddo, Product Manager, L&G
- Tochi Emewulu, Global Senior Product Manager, Amazon UK Services
Impact Award
- Atos
- CMS
- EON Energy
- Natwest
- Nestle UK & Ireland
- Premier Foods
- Rolls-Royce SMR
- Tesco
- Vodafone
- Whitbread
Inspirational Leader
- Barbara Anthony-Okafor, Senior Partner Development Manager, Intuit
- Busola Akinsete, Senior Account Manager and ERG Community & Partnerships Lead, Adobe
- Charlene Mcintosh, Associate Director, Macquarie
- Daniel Chan, Partner, PwC
- David Garcia Nuñez, Director of Skills, Resourcing, EDI and Learning, FORBES España
- Horace Francis, Director, Device Operations. Chair, Black Professionals at VodafoneThree, Vodafone
- Juliana Crow, Board member, Stonewater
- Rani Virdee-Chahal, Duty Team Manager, Coventry Building Society
- Rochelle Norton, Head of Architecture and Transformation – Technology Infrastructure, NatWest
- Shauna Roper, Director of Business Enablement, HSBC UK
Network Group
- Barclays Black Professionals Resource Group (BPRG), Barclays
- BeUnited, Bentley
- Culture & Ethnicity Network, L&G
- dbENRICH, Deutsche Bank
- EMBRACE ERG, Safran Electronics and Defense
- HSBC UK Embrace, HSBC
- I AM ME Network, Sainsbury’s
- Multicultural Network (MCN), Bank of Ireland
- ONE ERG, National Grid
- Race For Change, JLL
- Racial Equality Network, Ramboll
- REACH, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
- Serco Embrace, Serco
- The Empower Network, Siemens
- The Society for East Asians in Law (SEAL), A&O Shearman
Outstanding Employer
- Ashurst Perkins Coie
- Experian
- Jacobs
- Lloyds Banking Group
- London South East Colleges
- Macquarie
- Platform HG
- Stonewater
- Sussex Police
- Vodafone
Workplace Hero
- Chrissie Louca, Portfolio Coordinator, Motability Operations
- Elisha Sempa, Manager, Major Projects Advisory, KPMG UK
- Fiona Choo-Chen Sim, Compliance Editor, Channel 4
- Liyah Sudra, Project Director, SEO – Chair of dentsu Represent ERG
- Manawar Saeed, Co Chair Spectrum – FCA Race & Ethnicity Network, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Michelle Lee-Moses, Operations Executive, Siemens
- Padmaja Das, Nuclear Deterministic Engineer, Rolls-Royce SMR
- Pavitar Bhullar, Managing Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons
- Susan Edet, Sourcing Executive, ComputaCenter
- Urmi Mistry, Emergency Readiness Planning Manager, National Energy System Operator
COMMUNITY CATEGORIES (winners chosen by public vote)
Charity or Community Initiative
- Bae HQ
- Jami
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Kura Youth
- Migrants Organise
- Naz and Matt Foundation
- Runnymede Trust
- SARI (Standing Against Racism and Inequality)
- Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Support Project (SCTSP) Wolverhampton
- Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)
Outstanding Contribution to Communities
- Ali Najjar and Adam Imber
- Baroness Shaista Gohir, Muslim Women’s Network UK
- Julian Thompson
- Lavinya Stennett, CEO, Black Curriculum
- Lord Simon Woolley, Principal of Homerton College, University of Cambridge, and Cross Bench peer
- Nina Aouilk, Activist
- Pragna Patel, Project Resist
- Shereece Storrod, Grosvenor Road Studios
- Yvonne Field OBE
- Zrinka Bralo, CEO & Founder, Ubele Initiative
PUBLIC CATEGORIES (winners chosen by public vote)
Broadcaster, Journalist or Host
- Adil Ray
- Charlene White
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy
- Mica Richards
- Mishal Husain
- Nadia Sawalha
- Nadiya Hussain
- Romesh Ranganathan
- Sharan Dhaliwell
- Oti Mabuse
- Ranj Singh
Inspirational Public Figure
- Alex Scott
- David Olusoga
- Edward Enniful
- Gok Wan
- Meera Syal
- Michaela Cole
- Naomi Campbell
- Shobna Gulati
- Simone Ashley
- Steven Bartlett
Music Artist
- Alesha Dixon
- Charli XCX
- Heather Small
- Joy Crookes
- Keanan
- Leigh-Anne Pinnock
- Myles Smith
- Olivia Dean
- Raye
- Stormzy
- Sugababes
- Yazmin Lacey
Online Influencer
- Hannah Desai
- KSI
- Marcus Luther
- Munroe Bergdorf
- Nella Rose
- Patricia Bright
- Sabina Hannan
- Shaquille-Aaron Keith
- Victor Kunda
- Zeze Millz
Sports Personality
- Bukayo Saka
- Dina Asher-Smith
- Emma Radacanu
- Jess Carter
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson
- Lauren James
- Lewis Hamilton
- Marcus Rashford
- Michael Gunning
- Nikita Parris
- Saki Kumagai
WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
Winners will be announced at the 2026 Ethnicity Awards in October, bringing together leaders from business, politics, sport, media and the arts to celebrate excellence in diversity and inclusion.
Click here to find out more about all the finalists.
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