Starbucks names mutual fund executive Mellody Hobson as chair of coffee giant's board

Mellody Hobson, a mutual fund executive with a long history of speaking out on issues of race and diversity in corporate America, will be the next chair of the board of Starbucks. 

Hobson, who is Black, had been considered for a number of top jobs in the incoming Biden Administration, including as the Secretary of Commerce, according to Politico. The Starbucks appointment, announced Wednesday, makes a White House role for Hobson less likely. Hobson's Wall Street background had caused liberals to criticize her possible appointment.

In her new role at Starbucks, Hobson will become one of the highest-profile Black directors in corporate America. She will replace Myron Ullman, a retail executive and former CEO of J.C. Penny, who is retiring, in March. Hobson, 50, is currently the vice-chair of Starbucks' board, which she joined in 2005.

Hobson's appointment comes amid mounting pressure on corporations to make their boards more diverse. Earlier this month, Nasdaq executives said it may push for companies that are traded on its stock exchange to diversify their boards. Companies that don't have at least two directors who self-identify as female, a racial minority or LBGTQ would be forced to disclose that to investors and explain why. 

The proposal, which must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, would make the Nasdaq the first exchange to have a diversity mandate.

Starbucks has had its own problems with minority communities. In 2018, the company closed all of its stores for an afternoon of companywide racial bias training. The move came after two Black men were arrested in one of the coffee chain's stores in Philadelphia after an incident in which the men were denied the right to use the bathroom. The video of the incident, which went viral, led to protests and calls to boycott Starbucks on social media. 

More recently, Starbucks has made it a goal to increase diversity. The company has said it wants racial minorities to make up 30% of its corporate workforce and 40% of its workers overall by 2025. In June, Starbucks also reversed an earlier decision to ban employees from wearing "Black Lives Matters" T-shirts or pins.

Starbucks paid Hobson nearly $370,000 last year, making her the second-highest paid member of its board. Ullman, the retiring chairman, was paid $450,000. Along with her duties at Starbucks, Hobson remains the co-CEO of Chicago mutual fund firm Ariel Investments, where she has spent most of her career. She is also a member of the board of JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank.