January 22, 2025

Investor Mellody Hobson To Retire From Starbucks Board After 20 Years

Mellody Hobson

After 20 years, Mellody Hobson will leave her board role at Starbucks. Hobson’s career at Starbucks began after she was recruited to serve on the Board by Howard Schultz in 2005; she became vice chair, chair, and independent director.

“On behalf of everybody at Starbucks — and every partner who has gone before — thank you, Melody, for your leadership, your tremendous care, your passionate support, and for being a loyal shareholder,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol said in a statement to partners.

Hobson at Starbucks

Hobson spent 20 years at Starbucks, with her most recent title being lead independent director of its board. In her letter to the executive vice president, she says, ” I now feel comfortable stepping away from the board and do not plan to stand for re-election. I believe it is important for Brian to have a lead director who can sit alongside him for years to come—my twenty years is already a long time.”

Though she’s stepping down from her title, she will remain a “steadfast investor,” stating that she has “never sold a single Starbucks share.

Mellody Hobson’s career

Hobson launched Ariel Alternatives in 2021, which led to a $1.45 billion raise for its private equity fund for minority-owned businesses, Project Black.

She was also a board member of the Estée Lauder Companies and chairman of the board of DreamWorks Animation before it was sold in 2016.

Outside of finance, Hobson wrote a New York Times bestselling children’s book, Priceless Facts about Money. As part of her community outreach, she is a chairman of After School Matters, a non-profit in Chicago that gives teens high-quality after-school and summer programs, per Ariel investments.

In addition to this, she is also a co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and a board member of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the George Lucas Educational Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Center for Strategic & International Studies.


Image: Ariel Investments

Habiba Katsha

Habiba Katsha is a journalist and writer who specializes in writing about race, gender, and the internet. She is currently a tech reporter at POCIT.