Business
Mellody Hobson
Investor, businesswoman, financial educator
Melody Hobson worked her way up the ranks at Ariel Investments and became Co-CEO in 2019. She has served as director of various companies including Starbucks and Dreamworks, as well as serving as board member to a host of non-profit organizations. Some of her awards include the Order of Lincoln, the Woodrow Wilson Award and Time Magazine's Most Influential Person in the World.
Kenneth Chenault
Businessman, philanthropist
Ken Chenault started his career as an associate at a law firm, but eventually joined American Express in 1981. He worked his way up to CEO in 2001. He has served on multiple boards and committees for various companies throughout his career. He has founded and worked with multiple charitable organizations and been named one of Time Magazine's Most Influential People in the World.
E. Stanley O'neal
Businessman
Current director of Arconic, Stanley O'neal has a long history of serving as director and chairman to multiple companies including General Motors, Merrill Lynch and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was named Fortune's Most Powerful Black Executive in America in 2002
Don Thompson
Businessman, engineer, investor, philanthropist
Current CEO and founder of Cleveland Avenue, an investing firm, Don Thompson began his career as an engineer. Eventually being hired by McDonalds and working his way to President and CEO, where he remained for 3 years before starting his investment firm. He also started his own non-profit foundation and sits on the board of many other non-profit foundations and companies.
Mary Bush
Financial executive, federal government official, commentator
Mary started her career as a credit analyst for Chase Manhattan Bank in 1971. She has since held many different positions, such as director and vice president for various banking institutions like Citibank and Bankers Trust Institution. Mary served many different federal offices under three different presidents, where she used her knowledge to assist with federal budgets foreign and domestic.
Ursula M. Burns
Businesswoman, philanthropist
Ursula began working for Xerox in 1980 as an intern. She worked her way up to president in 2007 and CEO in 2009. She has served on numerous boards, including American Express, Uber and Exxon Mobil. She also has provided council and leadership to many community organizations and non-profits and been listed multiple times on Forbes Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Deval Patrick
Businessman, lawyer, politician, author
Deval started his career as a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He transitioned into politics when President Clinton appointed him assistant attorney general in 1994. He became the first African American governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic governor in 16 years, where he served 2 terms. He is currently a managing director of Bain Capital and sits on various boards for other companies and organizations.
John Hope Bryant
Businessman, actor, politician, author
John started his first business at the age of 10 and he later enrolled in Hollywood Professional School, where he made connections and eventually began his acting career. In 1992 he founded Operation HOPE, Inc with the intent of fostering financial investing in low income communities. He was appointed the vice-chairman of the President's Council on Financial Literacy in 2008 and continued under President Obama on the President's Council on Financial Capability. He is credited for inspiring the creation of numerous financial literacy policies and projects, including the US Small Business Administration Office of Entrepreneurship Education, emergency financial disaster preparedness programs and policy frameworks for Homeland Security and FEMA
Robert F. Smith
Businessman, philanthropist
Robert began working in high school for Bell Labs, where he developed a reliability test for semiconductors. He went on to get his bachelor's in chemical engineering from Cornell University as well as a Master's in Business Administration from Columbia University. After graduation, he worked for a few companies and registered several patents before entering the financial arena. He worked with aquistion and merger activity for companies such as Apple and Microsoft before founding his own company, Vista Equity Partners.
