Mellody Hobson To Be Named Starbucks Vice Chair Following Howard Schultz Departure

,The last few months have been trying for the Starbucks Coffee Company. First, the company came under fire after a store manager in Philadelphia called the police on to black men who were waiting for another person in her store. The men in question had also asked to use the bathroom despite not having made a purchase yet. Then the company closed stores for a day to do racial bias training. 

​After that, it appeared that Starbucks was getting back to business as usual, but then the company's CEO, Howard Schultz, announced his departure from Starbucks Monday (June 5), the end of a position he’s maintained for 36 years. Today, we found out that Mellody Hobson will be the person with the honor of replacing him.​

​According to Black Enterprise, Hobson will join the few African Americans that head a Fortune 500 company. The Chicago native’s resume is untouchable. BE reports Hobson started out as an intern and worked her way up to become the president to Ariel Investments, LLC, the largest African American-owned money manager in the U.S. She’s also the on boards for Estée Lauder, DreamWorks Animation, and Groupon.

​Hobson and renowned film director hubby George Lucas donated $10 million to University of California’s school of film to help lift up students of color, VIBE reported in 2015. She also is a financial contributor on Good Morning America, a featured consumer finance expert on Tom Joyner’s Money Mondays radio segment and a columnist for BE. Hobson is dedicated to educating her community about financial literacy and investing.

Hobson will takeover her new role at the end of the month.