
Mellody Hobson
investor | diversity champion
The youngest of 6 children, Mellody Hobson grew up in Chicago with a loving, encouraging mother who was also unflinchingly honest. About being black, about being a woman, about being poor. It gave her the determination to become ~ and stay ~ financially healthy…something she now helps others, especially people of color, achieve through financial literacy education.
Mellody worked her way to the top of Ariel Investments. It's one of the only financial firms where you'll see women + minorities in the boardroom. She wants to see that repeated until it's no longer "weird." So, she's become a champion of "color brave" ~ a movement inspired by her 2014 TED talk. "We want to go there," she says of the diversity conversation. And, she is.
honesty | Mellody doesn't mince words, because she values truth. She doesn't apologize for her perfectionism ~ "I like things to be well done," she told audiences at the 2015 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit. And, she's beloved for it...because she cares.
determination | When Mellody was a young employee at Ariel Investments, she made a point of visiting the same McDonald's as the company's founder John Rogers hit every morning to read the newspaper and drink coffee. Mellody always arrived ready to read the same paper ~ and score some one-on-one time with the big boss.
speaking out for diversity | After attending Jet and Ebony founder John Johnson's funeral in 2005, Mellody was struck by how "unapologetically black" he was as a leader ~ and vowed to stop apologizing for being a woman + being black. Her mother Dorothy made sure Mellody never forgot her identity ... and never forgot she could do anything she wanted. And what she wants to do now is inspire others to be "color brave."
1987 | enrolled at Princeton {instead of original choice, Harvard}, thanks to alumni recruiter John Rogers. Yep, that John Rogers. The man who would be her first boss, lifelong mentor + steadfast champion {and McDonald's breakfast buddy}.
2009 | The stock market plunge of 2008 could have been the end of Ariel ~ where Mellody has had the same office phone number since college. Instead, Mellody turned it into an educational opportunity, both for herself + for others. With ABC, where she was an on-air expert, she created the television special Un-broke, pairing financial education with seemingly incongruous celebrities Oscar the Grouch, Will Smith + the Jonas Brothers.
2014 | Mellody's TED Talk "Color blind or color brave?" came at a time when the US was beginning to face the magnitude of unacknowledged racism ~ the fact that having a black president does not a "post-racial society" make. Although Mellody has been up front as a black woman, the 1.2 million-views-and-counting speech put her on the front lines. As a director on high-profile corporate boards {Starbucks, Estée Lauder + Dreamworks, where she's chairwoman}, she asks us when we will recognize the weirdness of an all-male, all-white board.
from | to
college intern | company president
~ Ariel Investments, one of the largest black-owned US investment companies ~
born on
April 3, 1969
born in
Chicago, Illinois
birth name
Mellody Hobson
citizen of
the United States of America
daughter of
Dorothy Ashley
sister of
5 siblings
grew up in | lives in
Chicago, Illinois
educated at
Princeton
married to
George Lucas
mother of
1 daughter | Everest
advocate for | influenced by | influence on
education + financial literacy | John Rogers + Bill Bradley | Sheryl Sandberg + Dambisa Moyo
board member at Estée Lauder, Starbucks {where she chairs the audit-and-compliance committee}, and DreamWorks Animation {where she chairs the entire board}.
in her spare time
swimming
philanthropy {Field Museum, Chicago Public Library + Chicago Public Education Fund, to name a few}
image credits: TED | CC-BY-NC 2.0 + Ariel Investments
collapse bio bits"Although I don't have much (yet) what I do have is yours."
to sister Pat Hamel {quoted in Vanity Fair} | september 1987
"The first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it, and the first step to any form of action is awareness."
TED | march 2014
"Be brave for the kids who are dreaming those dreams today."
Color blind or color brave? | march 2014
"It would be lovely to think that success was a result of my being extraordinary, but the answer is far more boring. I worked hard. Really hard."
Own Who You Are | april 2014
"As often as she told me that 'life isn't fair,' she also told me, 'You can do anything.'"
Own Who You Are | april 2014
"I want my daughter to be proud of me, and because of that I work really hard for her."
Why Mellody Hobson stopped apologizing for being a black woman | december 2014
"Let's make sure we’re audacious enough to not leave anything on the table."
Starbucks Board Member Mellody Hobson: 'Let’s be Color Brave' | march 2015
"Do more than accept diversity: Seek out diversity. I promise it will make you more interesting, more informed, and more understanding."
commencement speech | may 2015
for further reading about Mellody Hobson:
curated with care by Meghan Miller Brawley {may 2015}
Woodrow Wilson School | Princeton University
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, as it looked in the spring of 1989. The year Mellody began attending ~ and also the year she met future mentor and boss, John Rogers of Ariel Investments. Academic success was always important to Mellody, who settled for nothing less than perfection. Today, she's chair of After School Matters, a Chicago nonprofit providing arts + culture education programs for teens, as well as serving on the boards of several other educational institutions, including the Chicago Public Library. Financial education for adults is also a key part of her activities, whether through her column in Black Enterprise or her regular commentary spots on CBS. She also appeared for several years on ABC's Good Morning America.
Peter Dutton | CC-BY 2.0
wedding
In June 2013, Mellody married longtime beau George Lucas {you may have heard of one or two of his little projects, like Star Wars}. Their Skywalker Ranch wedding was small, but the guest list was a Who's Who ~ Oprah and Steven Spielberg were among attendees. In fact, Oprah and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz brainstormed Oprah's Chai for Teavana at a pre-wedding party! But, Mellody says normalcy is important to her and George, and they share a dedication to their work + similar values. Like philanthropy ~ George is one of the signers of Warren Buffet's Giving Pledge, promising to give away half his wealth before his death. In George, Mellody has a partner who supports her and shares her vision. The two met at in 2005, and have one daughter, Everest.
victoria watkin-jones | CC-BY-ND 2.0
Mellody Hobson | Color blind or color brave?
The finance exec took to the TED2014 stage to make an argument for why open discussions of race are key to creating social equality in our communities and workplaces.
TED
Starbucks board member Mellody Hobson
The president of Chicago-based Ariel Investments is no stranger to the boardroom. She serves on the boards of Starbucks, Dreamworks Animation, Estee Lauder + more. Here, she helps introduce Starbucks' #RaceTogether campaign at the company's 2015 annual meeting. The bold initiative to help get the country talking about race relations became a heated topic of national conversation.
Starbucks News | Twitter