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Mellody Hobson
Hobson in 2007
Born	(1969-04-03) April 3, 1969 (age 55) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (BA)
Occupation	Businesswoman
Spouse	George Lucas ​(m. 2013)​
Children	1 (Everest Hobson Lucas)

Mellody Louise Hobson Lucas (born April 3, 1969) is an American businesswoman who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and former chair of Starbucks. She is the former chairman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., by NBCUniversal in August 2016. In 2017, she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago. On December 26, 2020 it was announced she would become chair of Starbucks in 2021, thus becoming the first black woman to chair an S&P 500 company, making her one of the highest profile corporate directors in the United States. She would serve in the role of chair until August 2024.

As of 2020, she is listed as #94 in Forbes list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Early life and education

The youngest in a family of six children, Hobson graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in 1987 and from Princeton University in 1991. At Princeton, Hobson was a member of the Cottage Club.

Career

Soon after her graduation from Princeton, Hobson joined Ariel Investments, a Chicago investment firm that manages over $14 billion in assets as an intern. She rose to become the firm's senior vice president and director of marketing. In 2000, she ascended to become the company's president. Ariel Investments is one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the US. She was a contributor to financial segments on Good Morning America and CBS This Morning for many years.

Hobson is also chairman of the board of trustees of Ariel Investment Trust and formerly a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.

Hobson is on the board of many organizations, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. She is also on the board of directors of the Starbucks Corporation, and formerly of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Hobson has been acclaimed in selections such as Time's 2015 Time 100 List, the magazine's annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world)., Ebony magazine's "20 Leaders of the Future" (1992), Working Women Magazine's "20 Under 30" (1992), the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" (2001), Esquire's "America's Best and Brightest" (2002), The Wall Street Journal's 50 "Women to Watch" (2004).

Hobson created and hosted a show on ABC on May 29, 2009, called Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money, featuring celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L. Jackson.

In 2017, Hobson was named to head the Economic Club of Chicago, the first African-American woman to do so. In August, Hobson guest hosted CBS Sunday Morning's annual "Money Issue" episode.

In June 2018, Hobson was named as vice-chair of Starbucks Corporation. After heading the finance committee she was elected to chair the board in 2020. Following the replacement of Laxman Narasimhan as Starbucks CEO on August 13, 2024, it was also announced that Hobson will step down as chair effective September 9, and become lead independent director.

In 2022, Hobson joined an investment group consisting of Rob Walton, Greg Penner, Carrie Walton Penner, Condoleezza Rice, and Sir Lewis Hamilton that purchased the Denver Broncos.

Philanthropy

In October 2020, Hobson and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a residential college at Princeton University.

In 2024, Mellody Hobson and her husband George Lucas provided funding for restoration of Girish Kasaravalli's film Ghatashraddha. The restoration is done by Film Heritage Foundation.

Awards and recognition

Hobson appeared on the Jack Good Show in August 2017, where she accepted the City of Birmingham's deepest appreciation for her charitable work with Birmingham's Bright Leaders of Tomorrow.

Hobson was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2018.

Popular culture

In the American television drama The Good Wife, actress Vanessa L. Williams based her character, self-made businesswoman Courtney Paige, on Hobson, studying her via Hobson's TED talks.

Personal life

Hobson began dating film director and producer George Lucas in 2006, after they met at a business conference in 2005. Hobson and Lucas announced their engagement in January 2013, and were married on June 22, 2013, at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. They have one daughter together, Everest Hobson Lucas, who was born via surrogacy in August 2013.

Hobson was photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the 2016 Pirelli Calendar.

References

1. "Form ADV" (PDF). Ariel Investments. September 1, 2003. p. 38.
2. "Mellody Hobson LUCAS". Companies House. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
3. Roeder, David (July 11, 2019). "Mellody Hobson named co-CEO of Ariel Investments". Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
4. ^ Sorkin, AR; Mattu; R; Warner, B; Kessler, S; de la Merced, MJ; Hirsch, L & Livni, E (August 13, 2024). "Starbucks Replaces Chief Executive After Activist Investor Campaigns". NYTimes.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024. The coffee chain hires Chipotle's Brian Niccol to take over from Laxman Narasimhan, ending a rocky stint marked slowing sales and a slumping stock price. ... Mellody Hobson, who was instrumental in the hiring of Narasimhan, will stay on the board as lead independent director, but cede her role as chairwoman.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. Mellody Hobson: Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dreamworks Animation website. Accessed 11-01-15
6. Marotti, Ally (May 2, 2017). "Mellody Hobson to chair Economic Club of Chicago, first black woman in post". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
7. "Mellody Hobson becomes Chairwoman of Starbucks". December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
8. ^ Ludlow, Edward; Roeder, Jonathan (December 9, 2020). "Starbucks Names Hobson Chair in Gain for Black Directors". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
9. "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
10. ^ "Mellody Hobson's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
11. "Ranking Princeton's Eating Clubs". December 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
12. "Ariel Investments, LLC". Ariel Investments. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
13. "Mellody Hobson Will Become Starbucks Vice Chair After Howard Schultz Departure". Fortune. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
14. ^ McLean, Bethany (March 30, 2015). "Why Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Bradley, and Oprah Love Mellody Hobson". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
15. "Mellody Hobson: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. April 15, 2015. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
16. The 50 Women to Watch Archived October 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, and The Wall Street Journal, 2004
17. "Un-Broke: What You Need to Know About Money". ABC News. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
18. "Mellody Hobson makes history at Economic Club". April 30, 2017. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
19. ""Sunday Morning" full episode 8/6 - Videos - CBS News". CBS News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
20. A.O.L. Staff. "Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz to step down". AOL.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
21. "Broncos and Walton-Penner family enter into a purchase and sale agreement". Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
22. "NFL owners approve Walton-Penner group's purchase of Denver Broncos franchise". NFL.com. August 9, 2022. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
23. Fazio, Marie (October 10, 2020). "Princeton to Name Residential College After Black Alumna". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
24. "Major gift from Mellody Hobson '91 names new residential college". princeton.edu. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
25. Ramachandran, Naman (February 23, 2024). "Martin Scorsese, George Lucas Team With Film Heritage Foundation to Restore Indian Classic 'Ghatashraddha' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
26. "BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (BPS) BIRMINGHAM". bpsbirmingham.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
27. "2018 Laureates Announced". The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
28. "Vanessa Williams on Miss America apology, "The Good Wife"". ‘’CBS This Morning’’. November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
29. "George Lucas". The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. July 4, 2023. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
30. First Look: George Lucas On His Relationship | Oprah's Next Chapter | Oprah Winfrey Network, archived from the original on July 12, 2023, retrieved July 12, 2023
31. Schillaci, Sophie (January 3, 2013). "George Lucas Engaged to DreamWorks Animation Chairman Mellody Hobson". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
32. Billups, Andrea (June 24, 2013). "George Lucas Marries Mellody Hobson". People. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
33. "Everest Hobson Lucas Born To George Lucas And Mellody Hobson". Huffington Post. August 12, 2013. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
34. "Annie Leibovitz Unveils 2016 Pirelli Calendar". Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2017.

External links

• Media related to Mellody Hobson at Wikimedia Commons
• Quotations related to Mellody Hobson at Wikiquote
• Mellody Hobson
• Mellody Hobson at TED

• 1969 births
• 20th-century African-American businesspeople
• 20th-century African-American women
• 21st-century African-American businesspeople
• 21st-century African-American women
• 21st-century American businesspeople
• 21st-century American businesswomen
• 21st-century American philanthropists
• African-American business executives
• African-American investors
• American chairpersons of corporations
• American investors
• American women investors
• Businesspeople from Illinois
• Denver Broncos owners
• Directors of Starbucks
• Henry Crown Fellows
• Living people
• Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
• St. Ignatius College Prep alumni
• American women corporate directors