15 Facts About Sonita Alleyne

In 1991, Sonita Alleyne set up Somethin' Else, a music publicity business, with former colleagues Jez Nelson and Chris Philips.

Sonita Alleyne produced original content for the BBC and commercial radio.

In October 2009, Sonita Alleyne stepped down as chief executive and continued as a non-executive director.

Since 2008, Sonita Alleyne has chaired the national arts charity Sound and Music and the Radio Sector Skills Council.

Sonita Alleyne is a member of the Court of Governors at the University of the Arts London and a trustee of the Islington Arts and Media Trust.

Sonita Alleyne sits on the UK Culture Committee for UNESCO and contributes to the Government Department for Work and Pensions as a member of the London Skills and Employment Board and the National Employment Panel.

Sonita Alleyne has been a judge for the Precious Awards, which celebrate the entrepreneurial achievements of black women, and the Sony Awards.

In July 2012, the Government announced that Sonita Alleyne would join the BBC Trust, the governing body of the Corporation.

Sonita Alleyne has been a board member of the London Legacy Development Corporation since April 2012.

Sonita Alleyne is the first woman to hold the role, 40 years after the college began admitting women as undergraduates.

Sonita Alleyne praised the work of the Jesus College working party on the legacies of slavery, whose work relating to the courtier Tobias Rustat, memorialised in the chapel, has been criticised by Charles Moore in The Spectator.

October 2019 saw Sonita Alleyne's influence recognised, with her inclusion in the 2020 Powerlist, an annual publication listing the 100 most influential Black Britons.

Sonita Alleyne's inclusion remained for the 2021 edition of the powerlist, in recognition of her work in the education sector.

In 2000, Sonita Alleyne received the Award of Excellence from the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners.

Sonita Alleyne is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and the Radio Academy.