The character arc of Mellody Hobson

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 3 April 1969 in Chicago, the youngest of six children. Between then and now sit St Ignatius College Prep in 1987, Princeton in 1991, the presidency of Ariel Investments in 2000, a television show on 29 May 2009, the DreamWorks Animation sale in August 2016, the Economic Club of Chicago in 2017, the Order of Lincoln in 2018, the Starbucks vice chairmanship in June 2018, the chairmanship announced on 26 December 2020, a gift to Princeton in October 2020 and stepping down on 9 September 2024. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Mellody Hobson?

The first in her family to go.

She was born in Chicago in 1969, the youngest of six children, and left St Ignatius College Prep in 1987 as a first-generation college student. She graduated from Princeton University in 1991. In 2000 she became president of Ariel Investments, where she is now president and co-chief executive. She created and hosted a programme on ABC on 29 May 2009 called Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money, with guests including the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L. Jackson, which is an unusual line-up for a personal finance show and precisely the point of it.

She was chairman of DreamWorks Animation and stepped down after negotiating its acquisition by NBCUniversal in August 2016. In 2017 she was named to head the Economic Club of Chicago, the first African-American woman to do so, and in 2018 she was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln, the state's highest honour.

In June 2018 she was named vice chair of Starbucks, headed its finance committee, and was elected to chair the board in 2020. It was announced on 26 December 2020 that she would become chair in 2021, making her the first Black woman to chair an S&P 500 company. She continued in the role until August 2024 and stepped down effective 9 September 2024, becoming lead independent director. In October 2020 she and the Hobson Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a residential college at Princeton University, and in 2022 she joined the investment group that purchased the Denver Broncos.

The moments

Mellody Hobson's timeline.

The 1980s

Jun 1987

The first to go

Milestone, and it changed everything. The first in her family to go to college.

The 1990s

Jun 1991

Princeton

Milestone, and it changed everything. Chicago to Princeton, from a family that had not been.

The 2000s

Jun 2000

President of Ariel

Milestone, and it changed everything. President of the firm, before she was thirty two.

29 May 2009

Unbroke, on ABC

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Money explained on prime time, with a Muppet in the cast.

The 2010s

22 Aug 2016

The DreamWorks sale

Milestone, and it changed her direction. She negotiated the sale and then stepped down from the chair.

Jun 2017

The Economic Club

Milestone, and it changed everything. The first African-American woman to head it.

Jun 2018

Vice chair of Starbucks

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Vice chair, and a state's highest honour, in the same year.

The 2020s

1 Jun 2020

Take the chair at Starbucks

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: take the chair, taken, or stay vice chair. She chaired Starbucks until August 2024 and became its lead independent director on 9 September 2024.

Oct 2020

A college at Princeton

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The lead gift for a college, at the university she was first in her family to reach.

17 Mar 2021

Chair of Starbucks

Milestone, and it changed everything. The first Black woman to chair a company in the index.

9 Aug 2022

A share of the Broncos

Milestone. A football team, bought with five other people.

9 Sep 2024

Lead independent director

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Out of the chair, and still on the board.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is the distance between two facts on the same chart: the first in her family to go to college, and the lead gift that built a college at the one she went to.

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Mellody Hobson: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Mellody Hobson's character arc?

The youngest of six children in Chicago and the first in her family to go to college, she left school in 1987, graduated from Princeton in 1991, became president of Ariel Investments in 2000, and chaired Starbucks from 2021 until September 2024.

Was Mellody Hobson the chair of Starbucks?

Yes. It was announced on 26 December 2020 that she would become chair in 2021, making her the first Black woman to chair an S&P 500 company. She had been named vice chair in June 2018, and stepped down as chair effective 9 September 2024.

What does Mellody Hobson do at Ariel Investments?

She is its president and co-chief executive, having become president in 2000. She graduated from Princeton in 1991. Ariel is where the whole of her investment career sits, alongside the board seats she has held elsewhere.

What has Mellody Hobson given to Princeton?

In October 2020 she and the Hobson Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a residential college at Princeton University. She had arrived there in the late 1980s as the first person in her family to go to college.

Was Mellody Hobson at DreamWorks?

She was chairman of DreamWorks Animation and stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG by NBCUniversal in August 2016. Negotiating your own company's sale and then leaving the chair is an unusual way to finish a job.

What firsts is Mellody Hobson known for?

In 2017 she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago, and in 2021 the first Black woman to chair an S&P 500 company. She was also awarded the Order of Lincoln, the highest honour of the State of Illinois, in 2018.

Does Mellody Hobson own part of a sports team?

Yes. In 2022 she joined an investment group including Rob Walton, Greg Penner, Carrie Walton Penner, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton that purchased the Denver Broncos. It sits alongside her board seats at Starbucks and her work running Ariel Investments.

Where does this timeline of Mellody Hobson's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Mellody Hobson isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Mellody Hobson, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Starbucks Corporation board announcements of 26 December 2020 and August 2024.
Princeton University degree record, 1991, and The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, 2018.