Giving Back

Speaker: Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments

About the Speaker:
As Co-CEO, Mellody is responsible for management, strategic planning and growth for all areas of Ariel Investments outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ariel Investment Trust—the company’s publicly traded mutual funds. Prior to being named Co-CEO, Mellody spent nearly two decades as the firm’s President.

Outside of Ariel, Mellody is a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy. She has conducted extensive research on minority investing patterns and pens a column for Black Enterprise Magazine. Her leadership has also been invaluable to corporate boardrooms across the nation. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation; a director of JPMorgan Chase; and a director of Quibi, a short-form video content company. She previously served as Chairman of the Board of DreamWorks Animation until the company’s sale and was also a long-standing board member of the Estée Lauder Companies.

Mellody’s community outreach includes her role as Chairman of After School Matters, a Chicago non-profit that provides area teens with high-quality after school and summer programs. Additionally, she is vice chair of World Business Chicago; co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; and a board member of the George Lucas Education Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. She also serves on the board at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Mellody is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees, and serves on the executive committee of the Investment Company Institute.

Mellody earned her AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. In 2019, she was awarded the University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented annually to a Princeton graduate whose career embodies a commitment to national service. She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, St. Mary’s College, and the University of Southern California. In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People” in the world.

In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People” in the world.

Click here for more information about this event. Early bird registration opens soon.

Speaker: Susan Kay, VP, Director, Business Development at MFS Funds

The best advisors in the country go from good-to-great when markets are uncertain. Prospecting events in a virtual world: what’s working? Top performing practices are adapting to gather assets inside a socially distanced framework. Join Susan Kay for innovative event ideas for getting in front of new families. In this presentation Susan will accomplish two things: How are the best getting in front of prospective new client families, and what the best are doing right now, to prove their value beyond investing. She will share seven engaging and innovative virtual event ideas, and also a half-dozen ‘touch’ tactics that are meaningful to our clients in this environment. These include deeply meaningful communication ideas that will touch prospects in ways that feel generous and connective.

Now is the time when the best advisors in the country will work creatively to get in front of prospective new families …How about you?

About the Speaker:
Susan Kay is a vice president and director of business development at MFS Funds and she has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. She travels extensively meeting with top performing advisors every week, is a highly rated speaker and tremendous supporter of the FPA in Northern California.