Mellody Hobson continues to blaze trails and break financial barriers with her latest business move, At just 53 years old, Hobson is an American businesswoman who is President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, chairwoman of Starbucks, sits on the board of financial services giant JP Morgan Chase and is now a partner in the ownership group that just struck a deal to buy the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion. The group is headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton, it’s unclear what percentage of the Broncos Hobson would own but the sale price suggests that owning even a small percentage would be worth a considerable amount. “Beyond her role at Ariel, Mollody is an influential leader in corporate and civic organizations across the nation,” said Walton in a press release. “We know she will bring her strategic acumen and leadership perspective to our team,” he added. The team, just like the NFL organization at large, was mostly owned by white men, so Hobson’s entry into ownership is historic. The sale of the team was announced by Roger Goodell back in February and they were looking for a diverse ownership group to take it over. It was reported that names like NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic Johnson”, media entrepreneur Byron Allen and Robert F. Smith, the billionaire investor, were each rumored to be pursuing the team. Black Prospective buyers have largely been unsuccessful in gaining any real ownership. With 7 out of 10 players in the league being Black there are just 3 of 32 coaches who are Black or of color. Broncos Quarterback Russell Wilson has had conversations with the franchise’s new ownership group and said its inclusion of Hobson as “History Making “To be the first Black woman, right, to be able to do this, I mean, this is a big deal. I mean, this is history. And I think that maybe has gone over people’s heads a little bit.” Congratulations to Mellody on this History Making collaboration.
