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Mellody Hobson

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Mellody Hobson
Hobson in 2012
Born (1969-04-03) April 3, 1969 (age 55)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationFinancial/Investment Management Executive
Years active1991–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1

Mellody Hobson (born April 3, 1969) is an American businesswoman who is the president of Ariel Investments and the current Chair of the Board of Directors of DreamWorks Animation.[1]

Early life

Hobson was born in Chicago, Illinois. She was educated at St. Ignatius College Prep high school, and subsequently attended Princeton University, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Career

Soon after her graduation from Princeton, Hobson joined Ariel Investments as an intern and rose to become the firm's senior vice president and director of marketing. In 2000, she ascended to become the president of Ariel, a Chicago investment firm that manages over $10 billion in assets.[2] It is also one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the United States.[3]

Hobson is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ariel Investment Trust and the Chair of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. She is a regular contributor on financial issues on CBS This Morning and a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.

Hobson serves on the board of many organizations, including the Chicago Public Education Fund, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Sundance Institute. She is also a director of the Starbucks Corporation, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., and DreamWorks Animation SKG, 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).,[4] 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).[5]

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.[6]

Actress Vanessa L. Williams based her character, self-made businesswoman Courtney Paige (in the American television drama, The Good Wife), on Hobson, studying her via Hobson's TED talks.[7]

Personal life

Hobson began dating film director and producer George Lucas in 2006, after they met at a business conference.[8][9][10][11][12] Hobson and Lucas announced their engagement in January 2013,[13] and were married on June 22, 2013, at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch.[14] They have one daughter together, Everest Hobson Lucas, who was born via surrogacy in August 2013.[15] She has been photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the 2016 Pirelli Calendar.[16]

References

  1. ^ Mellody Hobson: Chair of the Board of Directors, Dreamworks Animation website. Accessed 11-01-15
  2. ^ "Ariel Investments, LLC". Ariel Investments.
  3. ^ http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=553
  4. ^ "Mellody Hobson: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. April 15, 2015.
  5. ^ The 50 Women to Watch, and The Wall Street Journal, 2004
  6. ^ Un-Broke: What You Need to Know About Money
  7. ^ "Vanessa Williams on Miss America apology, "The Good Wife"". ‘’CBS This Morning’’. November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  8. ^ Zwecker, Bill (October 27, 2011). "Paula Abdul 'outraged' after Steve Jones cuts her off on 'X Factor'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011.
  9. ^ Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (February 27, 2007). "An Oscar winner for best crowd scene". New York: NY Daily News. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  10. ^ Waggoner, John (July 6, 2009). "Kudos to 8 stock mutual funds that have clawed back to profits". USA Today. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  11. ^ Sokolov, Raymond (February 27, 2011). "Chicago Steps Out". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  12. ^ McCormick, John (April 14, 2011). "Obama's Money Pump for 2012 Re-Election Bid Primed by Chicago". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  13. ^ Schillaci, Sophie (January 3, 2013). "George Lucas Engaged to DreamWorks Animation Chairman Mellody Hobson". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  14. ^ Billups, Andrea (June 24, 2013). "George Lucas Marries Mellody Hobson". People. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  15. ^ "Everest Hobson Lucas Born To George Lucas And Mellody Hobson". Huffington Post. August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  16. ^ ANNIE LEIBOVITZ TAKES THE PIRELLI CALENDAR IN A DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION
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