Fascinating People Project: Mellody Hobson, Super Achiever and Graceful Lady

I first met Mellody Hobson in 2002 when I was working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. I created a program called Money Smart Week which was a campaign that brought together financial institutions, not-for-profits, schools, elected officials, government agencies, and other stakeholders with an interest in financial education for consumers. Mellody, President of Ariel Capital Management, was known for her efforts to educate individuals about investing, so I set up a meeting to talk to her about getting Ariel involved in Money Smart Week.
My first impression of Mellody was that she was very articulate and glamorous to the point of being intimidating. As I got to know her a little better I realized that in addition to having intelligence, charm, a great job, and designer clothes Mellody was also a tireless achiever. Notice that I didn’t use the term “overachiever” because that would imply that her achievements are above her innate skill level. No, Mellody is one of those rare achievers who unintentionally make the rest of us feel like slackers.
I went to a top-tier college and a top ranked MBA program so I think I know a high achiever when I see one. The difference between Mellody and a lot of hard-working high-achieving individuals is that she makes it look easy because she appears to be doing what she truly loves and not just what will earn her the biggest paycheck. If you ever get the chance to hear Mellody give one of her famous speeches about investing I suggest that you stop what you are doing and go listen to her. She explains investing in simple, yet non-condescending terms and she is so passionate about the topic. She and her firm are particularly passionate about encouraging African Americans to start investing.
Mellody grew up in Chicago and attended Princeton University. She graduated from Princeton in 1991 with a degree in South African studies (note that she did not get a degree in finance or accounting). While at Princeton she approached John Rogers, founder of Ariel Capital Management LLC and a fellow Princeton alum, about an internship. John hired her as a summer intern and then hired her full time as the Director of Marketing when she graduated. By 2000 she had been named President of Ariel. How did she do it? Hard work, dedication, and just plain loving her job and the company that employs her. Ariel couldn’t find a more passionate advocate for its investments than Mellody. The firm now boasts more than $15 billion under management.
Mellody is a regular contributor to Good Morning America’s financial segments and she serves on the boards of the Chicago Public Library, The Field Museum, The Chicago Public Education Fund, and the Sundance Institute. She is a director of the Starbucks Corporation, The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc, and Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. She was named one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow at the 2001 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In her spare time she runs marathons and tutors underprivileged children. She isn’t 40 years old yet.
Mellody fascinates me, in part because of the brilliant way she has navigated her career, but also because she is really a genuinely nice woman. Soon after I met her she invited me to be her guest at an Economic Club of Chicago dinner – I met a group of fun, smart, high-achieving women at her table. What an honor to have been included.
As I mentioned before I have met a lot of achievers, some of them quite famous. Few are as genuinely passionate about their jobs as Mellody seems to be. Few “walk the talk” the way she does. And few seem to push themselves in every area of their lives as Mellody does. She is the total package that we all wish we could be: smart, talented, hard working, high achieving, nice, beautiful, and well liked.
I think what we can learn from Mellody is that you should find a job you love working for people you admire and then work your rear end off. In other words: be strategic about your career and work really hard when you find the right job. If you have a job that you are great at and you are happy in your work environment you will have the energy left to push yourself in other parts of your life (run marathons for example) and you will naturally behave with kindness toward others. Generally speaking it’s the unhappy achievers who aren’t very nice to be around.
It is amazing what can happen when you are in the right place at the right time and you aren’t afraid to fully commit yourself to your career. But you have to find the right place to work rather than just finding any old place to work. Easier said than done I know but that is what I have learned from Mellody. That and to be graceful even when you are under pressure. She is as classy a lady as you will ever meet and she is always gracious and charming no matter how little time she has. Like I said, she makes her success look so easy even though I know she has worked harder than some of us will ever work at anything we do in order to make it happen.
Oh, did I mention that she is rumored to be dating film director/producer George Lucas? He even took her to the 2007 Academy Awards as his date. If she wasn’t such a nice person it would be so easy to hate her!
By: Liz Handlin, Author of The Ultimate Resume Blogspot
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.