Joanne Anderson

Joanne Anderson is the former Mayor of Liverpool – the first woman to be Mayor of the city and the first Black woman to be a directly-elected mayor in the UK – and is recognised as one of the country’s most influential agenda-setters. A purpose-driven leader, Joanne’s 30-year public and third-sector career has been defined by her work in social impact, equity, and the environment. A progressive, community-first approach led to her campaign manifesto's triple-lock promise, scrutinising every council decision for its social impact, environmental sustainability, and inclusivity criteria. In 2021, Vogue named Joanne on its influential ‘25 list’ – which celebrates the women “defining – and redefining – the way we live now,” alongside the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. Recognising women in society who strive to make a difference, it notes that Joanne: “symbolises the turning of a leaf for her hometown – once one of Britain’s biggest slave ports – and the country.” As the Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne demonstrated cross-cutting and situational leadership capabilities. Successfully guiding the city council through its most tumultuous period in history, she transformed the way the council runs, leading to improvements in key service areas. At the same time, she ensured that the City continued to thrive, securing the prestigious Eurovision 2023 hosting rights, which, despite a modest investment, has yielded an impressive return on investment whilst shining a spotlight of positivity on the UK from across Europe. Alongside her mayoral election, Joanne has been responsible for a string of ‘firsts’: she launched the first Black-led social enterprise in Liverpool and Black-led Social Traders Network (BlaST). She has an internationally recognised reputation through her work around equalities and spearheaded Liverpool’s international profile in her role for Liverpool City Council. Alongside Eurovision, the Liverpool Against Racism festival was the first of its kind globally, a thought-provoking, entertaining, empowering, and educational week described by one participant as an “intellectual Glastonbury”. Joanne’s academic experience includes a wide-ranging background in research. Her first degree was in business studies, and she is currently completing a Business Scale-Up MBA. At Innervision, she led several regional and national research projects on positive action, regional labour markets, race equity and setting standards for a multi-racial workforce. Joanne is a passionate and engaging speaker on race and gender equity, social enterprise and impact, politics, community engagement, inclusive prosperity, and environmental impact. She has gained a reputation for her strategic approach to tackling structural inequalities, addressing investment, innovation, and resilience. Joanne is currently working on the UK's first social investment placed-based pathfinder with a goal of attracting £50 million to support the regions social economy in growing their economic and social impact. While serving as Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne confronted a breast cancer diagnosis requiring surgery and a course of radiotherapy. This experience compelled her to advocate for women’s engagement in screening appointments and address the challenges specific to women in professional spheres, including demanding responsibilities, caregiving obligations and better work-life balance. Subsequently, Joanne underwent a hysterectomy, which vividly underscored these challenges – and taught her a lot about her own resilience.