Mellody Hobson

Mellody Hobson joined Ariel Investments as an intern in 1991 and never left. Today, she is co-CEO and the largest shareholder of the firm, which is one of the leading Black-owned asset managers in the U.S., with roughly $14 billion under management. Hobson has built her career on the belief that capital can close gaps as well as create returns. In 2021, she cofounded Ariel Alternatives, a private asset management firm, and launched Project Black, a $1.45 billion private fund aimed at scaling minority-owned businesses to serve as suppliers-of-choice to Fortune 500 companies. In 2025, she started Project Level, a new private fund focused on driving investment in women’s sports. A JPMorgan Chase director and longtime advocate for financial literacy, Hobson has spent more than three decades turning long-term investing into a vehicle for broader access and opportunity.