Anne Mensah

  Powerlistee
  Media, Publishing, Entertainment, Sport

Anne Mensah is arguably the most prominent and influential Black executive ever to have worked in UK film and television. Over three decades, from the BBC to Sky and now to leading Netflix, she has been the executive force behind a string of TV’s biggest blockbusters. She oversees all Netflix UK commissions, and in the past year alone her successes have included the global show of the moment Adolescence – which led to Anne meeting with the Prime Minister at Number 10 to discuss its impact.

As Vice President of UK Content for Netflix, her role is to source shows that can achieve huge global reach. Her work spans all genres, from scripted series to film, unscripted, documentaries, and licensed programmes. Her shows have been nominated for more than 60 awards across BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Emmys. She is hailed as a champion of innovative, interesting, and underrepresented storytellers.

The TV exec, whose mother was a Canadian teacher and whose late father was a Ghanaian accountant, grew up in Lewisham, southeast London, and describes her childhood as normal. She recently told The Times: “The TV was always on in the background, and I remember belly-laughing at shows with my mum and my dad and watching Airwolf and The A-Team.”

Outside of television, Anne is an independent governor and chair of the Diversity Committee at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, as well as sitting on the board of the schools-based educational charity Into Film, a Trustee on Lewis Hamilton’s charity Mission44, and at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where she is Vice President.

Mensah also played a crucial role in shaping the agenda for TV dramas on Sky, where she worked for more than six years, overseeing the entertainment channels.

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