When I was elected mayor of Bristol in 2016 I had the honour of becoming leader of the city in which I was born and brought up and becoming the first person of black African heritage to be elected mayor of any major European city. During my time in office I committed Bristol to inclusive, sustainable development and reinvented city leadership through the award winning Bristol One City Approach. I was named 2020 UK politician of the year in the Business Green Leaders Awards and joint winner of the 2021 Penn Institute for Urban Research Urban Leadership Award.I offer a combination of strategic thinking, the ability to communicate, and the ability to connect people, movements and organisations in purposeful relationships. This has resulted in my appointment to a number of influential leadership positions. Among them:Chair, UK Core Cities Chair, Local Government Association City Regions BoardCo-Chair, Urban Futures CommissionAdvisory Board, 3CiUK Representative, Commonwealth Local Government ForumLeadership Board, Mayors Migration CouncilMember, C40/MMC Climate Migration Task ForceMember, World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Cities of TomorrowI am currently serving as President of the British Exploring Society, Ambassador for Empire Fighting Chance and Ambassador for Tearfund.In 2021 the Royal Institute of British Architects named me an Honourably RIBA Fellow and I became a TED Idea-Generator when I spoke at TED Vancouver in 2022.