Entrants are regarded as role models in their fields and Vanessa (pictured), who appears in a special ‘20 under 40s’ section is applauded, not only for her remarkable achievements at Condé Nast, but also her work outside the magazine world too.
Vanessa attended a drinks reception last week at 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister to celebrate Black History Month and the launch of the Powerlist 2013.
Writing in the PowerList, David Cameron writes: “We should never underestimate the power of role models. When teenagers see high-achievers who look like them, who have reached the top in law, business, politics, they’re going to think: ‘I can do that; I can go far too.”
Michael Eboda, Editor of the Powerlist, said the initial idea was to show that "there was more to the black community than footballers and entertainers".
"Since then it's taken on a life of its own," he said. "What we've realised is this is about role models primarily … It's become more about showing youngsters that with a bit of hard work and dedication this is what you can do. We feel the easiest way of showing somebody what's possible is by showing them somebody who's already done it, who maybe looks like them and has come from a similar background as them."
