Karen Blackett: 'I haven't been openly judged on gender or skin colour, but I'm sure it goes on behind my back' Blackett has been at the company for 20 years, becoming chief executive in 2010. Since then, the 43-year-old has launched an apprenticeship scheme at MediaCom for disadvantaged young people who want to get into the media industry, taking on 10 to 15 people each year. The hard work is paying off. In the past year, MediaCom has been named agency of the year and won £300m of new business. In June, Blackett was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Honours list for services to the media industry. I've been fortunate to have worked for employers that have recognised talent and potential. I haven't been judged on gender or skin colour," she says. Yet Blackett says she has encountered racism and sexism in her career. Ten years ago she led an unsuccessful pitch to a well-known breakfast cereal company. Later, she discovered one of her industry colleagues was told by the two middle-aged white men from the cereal brand: "MediaCom were quite good but there's no way we'd have a female director in this account, let alone a black one." Blackett says: "That's hurtful because that was personal. It was nothing to do with my work. I'd have preferred them to say the proposal was rubbish. But you then have to think, more fool them. They would have got a bloody brilliant team. Does it still occur behind my back? I'm sure it does. MediaCom recently partnered with Channel 4 to stream Sam Smith live in an entire ad break takeover According to the latest IPA Agency Census, women made up 26pc of those in executive positions in agencies in 2013, and the proportion of non-white employees was 11.2pc. MediaCom, owned by WPP, has four women in a top team of seven. She hopes the Powerlist, which will be sent out to schools, will inspire pupils to consider different career paths and to find role models. Blackett, whose parents settled in Reading from Barbados in the 1960s, was told that her only career choices were to be a nurse or a teacher When the list was launched in 2008 by publisher Michael Eboda, the initial idea was to showcase how success for black Britons was not confined to sport and entertainment. Stats show that one in four kids at primary schools are from a black and minority ethnic population, yet only one in eight go into employment. Something has to be done. That's not right," Blackett says. Despite her career achievements, Blackett says she's never been approached to be on a FTSE 100 board. "I'm not sure if the headhunters for executive boards realise there is life outside of middle class white England," she says. They need to work harder to find the best talent for the job and not continue fishing in the same pond. She adds: "If by 2045 the rest of the UK will have the same ethnic split as London, you'd better have a few people on your board that are able to empathise with that population. I think it's just common business sense. Blackett, a single mother, sits on the board of Women in Advertising and Communications London and is a trustee of an adoption charity. "My cup is quite full but if there was an opportunity where I thought I could contribute to a FTSE 100 board, I'd do it," she says. Powerlist 2015 Top 10 Karen Blackett CEO, MediaCom, UK Ken Olisa Chairman, Restoration Partners; Non-Executive Chairman, Outsourcery Plc Chuka Umunna Shadow Business Secretary; Helen Grant Minister for Sport and Tourism Sandie Okoro Global General Council, HSBC Global Asset Management Steve McQueen Artist/Director Steve McQueen is the director of 12 Years A Slave Matthew Ryder QC Barrister Sharon White Second Permanent Secretary of the Treasury (Joint) Lenny Henry Comedian, actor, writer; & Idris Elba actor, producer Adrian Joseph Director, search advertising Northern & Central Europe, Google Lewis Hamilton Formula 1 driver, Mercedes