Mellody Hobson

The First Black Chairperson of an S&P 500 Company

Portrait of Mellody Hobson, adapted from a photo courtesy of Forbes.

Mellody Hobson joined the well-respected black-owned money-management firm Ariel Investments as an intern. Within a decade, she rose to become senior vice president and director of marketing and then president. She has since been named co-CEO. Mellody was also chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation and has served on the board of companies such as JP Morgan Chase & Co., the Sundance Institute, and The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. In 2015, Time magazine added her to its 100 List, which ranks the one hundred most influential people working in various fields. The Wall Street Journal counted her among its “Women to Watch,” and Esquire listed her among “America’s Best and Brightest.” In 2018, Mellody became Vice-Chair of Starbucks Corporation. But perhaps the zenith of her career occurred at the end of 2020, when the announcement came on December 26 that she would be the new chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. Mellody, in effect, is the first black chairperson of an S&P 500 company.

Mellody Hobson was born to a single mother, Dorothy Ashley, in Chicago, Illinois, on April 3, 1969. Mellody is the youngest of six children. Dorothy was relatively hands-off when it came to Mellody, often refusing to make decisions for her. Concerning that period, Mellody said:

She wouldn’t do that for me. I found my own orthodontist, my own high school. I set up interviews and did college trips. Despite her incredible concern and caring, my mom didn’t have the capacity for that. It was outside her experience, and she knew I was on top of it.”

Mellody Hobson early in her career. Based on a photo courtesy of Stuart Rodgers Photography.

Mellody performed well in high school, which led to offers from prestigious colleges. She planned on attending Harvard but switched to Princeton after a recruiter named John Rodgers changed her mind. John—a Princeton alumnus—was 11 years her senior, and he founded the company she would work for and later head: Ariel Investments. After becoming an integral component in the company, she and John founded a public school on the south side of Chicago named Ariel Community Academy in 1996. Through the New School Initiative Program, Ariel Investments received a corporate sponsorship. The school currently serves 500 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, ninety-eight percent of which are black.

Ariel Investments has since been a life anchor for Mellody. She started acquiring the company’s stock in her 20s, either through stock grants or direct purchases. She now owns a considerable amount of Ariel’s shares valued at tens of millions of dollars. Through the years, Mellody rose to prominence as a board member of various companies, and she established a circle of powerful and influential friends and business associates. Some are corporate billionaires, such as Howard Schultz and David Geffen, but they all speak highly of Mellody and continue to root for her success. Mellody even married one of those billionaires, filmmaker George Lucas, in 2013. At their wedding were many high-profile individuals, including Oprah Winfrey and several Hollywood luminaries. But Mellody isn’t unfazed by her success. She admits to being in awe of her life.

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