Perminder Mann among 'most powerful' BAME leaders

Perminder Mann, Bonnier Publishing UK c.e.o., has been named on a list of the Guardian's most powerful BAME leaders, alongside Sadiq Khan, Edward Enniful and Sir Harpal S Kumar. She is one of only seven women on the list and the only person from the book publishing industry.

The list is part of a wider analysis conducted by the Guardian and Operation Black Vote that found of the 1,049 "most powerful" people in the UK, just 36 are from ethnic minorities.

Mann was this year promoted to head Bonnier Publishing's newly-consolidated UK group, as it prepares for "significant growth".

After working in the toy industry, she rose Bonnier Publishing's ranks from m.d. of the Autumn Group in 2012 - via time spent as c.e.o. of Kings Road Publishing in 2015 and 2016 - to the position of c.e.o. of Bonnier Publishing UK in May 2017, where she now oversees Bonnier Zaffre, IglooBooks and Kings Road Publishing.

She was described in the Guardian's profile as heading "one of the UK's top publishing firms", noting also her status in The Bookseller's top 100 most influential in the publishing industry in 2015 and 2016.

The listing follows discussion within the industry how it can help more women and BAME professionals to reach the top echeleons. A recent survey from bookcareers.com showed men are still being paid more than women, because men are often employed in higher earning roles; 47.9% of male respondents to the survey were found to be earning above the average salary of £32,228 compared with 31.5% of female respondents. 

Amid the range of diversity initiatives introduced by leading publishers over the past couple years, Hachette UK has sought to address diversity in its senior management team specifically through its Diverse Leaders Future Mentoring Scheme, designed to give up-and-coming stars from non-traditional publishing backgrounds the skills and confidence to rise up in the business.