Mellody Hobson Biography  -  Sponsored by: Carol Mackoff Favorites Color Orange Food Spinach Quote “Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” Time of Year Summer Vacation Spot Italy

Mellody Hobson is President of Ariel Capital Management, LLC, one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the country. Born April 3, 1969, in Chicago, Illinois, Hobson is the youngest of six children. She graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in 1987, and attended Princeton University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy.

During college, Hobson interned at Ariel Capital Management as well as the investment firm, T. Rowe Price Associates. Upon graduation, she accepted a position with Ariel, overseeing client service and taking part in strategic planning. By 2000, she had worked her way up to President of the company which today has more than $16 billion in assets under her management. In the fall of 2006, Hobson was elected Chairman of the Ariel Mutual Funds Board of Trustees.

Hobson has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. Specifically, she is a regular financial contributor on ABC's Good Morning America as well as a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey, which examines the influences and investing habits of Black and White Americans. She serves as a board member of the Chicago Public Library and its foundation, The Field Museum, The Chicago Public Education Fund and The Sundance Institute. She is also a director of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute and is a former Trustee of Princeton University.

Her professional and civic leadership have brought her to the forefront of media attention. In 2004, The Wall Street Journal profiled Hobson as one of 50 Women to Watch, and TIME magazine identified her as one of 25 business influentials setting the global standards for management, ethics, marketing and innovation. In 2001, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland named her a Global Leader of Tomorrow.



Hobson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on February 10, 2002.