Mellody Hobson Appointed as Chairman of DreamWorks Animation

Mellody Hobson &  George Lucas

Financial guru, Mellody Hobson, is replacing Roger Enrico as Chairman of DreamWorks Animation. Hobson, 43, has been highlighted several times on Society Noir for her illustrious achievements. The Princeton graduate is president of Ariel Investments a Chicago-based African-American owned firm which manages more than $3 billion in assets, and chairwoman of Ariel Mutual Funds.  The beautiful MidWestern brainiac is also a  financial contributor on the popular television show Good Morning America.  In addition,  she’s also a director of Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Groupon, and sits on the boards of the Sundance Institute, Chicago’s Field Museum, and the Chicago Public Education Fund.

Hobson, whose been romantically linked to world-renowned filmmaker George Lucas since 2006, brings an interesting dynamic to DreamWorks Animation.  Bucking the status quo in the male, non-black dominated world of Hollywood it will be more than interesting to see the influence Ms. Hobson will yield.  

To say the least, Ms. Hobson's appointment as Chairman to DreamWorks Animation is certainly a welcomed departure.

Read our past coverage of Mellody Hobson here and here.

Nigeria Labour Congress Protests Union Bank of Nigeria's Anti-Labour Practices,While Shareholders File Suit Against the Executive Management

Many Employees of the  Union Bank of Nigeria are fed up with what they say are oppressive, anti-labour practices that treats them like slaves. The National Labour Congress (NLC) acted on this disenchantment by picketing and literally shutting down several branches of Union Bank of Nigeria.

Simultaneously,  Union Bank's shareholders are taking action  by filing a lawsuit against the Managing Director of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc,  Mrs Funke Osibodu. The shareholders allege that Mrs. Osibodu and her colleagues are engaged in corruption, using the bank's funding for their personal benefit to the shareholders and bank's detriment.

Unfortunately, the customers who have money in the Union Bank of Nigeria are unable to access their much needed money and caught in the middle of what could be an important turning point in workers' rights in Nigeria.

MANY customers of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, who thronged the branches of the bank on Wednesday to  transact business, were helpless as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) continued its picketing of the branches of the bank across the country.

The NLC took over all the branches and offices of Union Bank in Abuja on Wednesday, sealed them off, switched off their sources of power and chased out the few staff who were on duty.

As early as 8.00 a.m., officials of the NLC led their members in what the congress described as a final showdown and complete closure of the bank and instantly commenced the picketing from the bank’s headquarters in Area 3, Abuja.

Mellody Hobson Speaks on Retirement Crisis for Black Americans

I came across an interesting article written by Chicagoan,Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Capital Mgt. and director of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation.

Mellody Hobson with boyfriend, George Lucas

Mellody posted an article on The Huffington Post titled "The Looming Retirement Crisis in the African-American Community." In her article she speaks of her company Ariel doing research on African-Americans trends in employee benefits, retirement and financial literacy.
Employee benefit providers and corporations unfortunately, found these bad habits among black employees that could negatively affect their long-term financial security:
- Blacks save less per month
- Less likely to diversify their portfolio
- Less likely to roll over when they change jobs
- More likely to borrow against their 401 (k)

Ms. Hobson argues that a lack of financial literacy among the African-American community will cause growing national crisis and financial burdens on retirees' children and society. She encourages a national effort to promote financial literacy, an increase of knowledge and exposure to investment information.

I do agree with her that Social Security, baby boomer retirement in addition to everyday economic hardships America needs to be addressed and resolved, sooner rather than later. I think everyone in the US no matter what their race is should pay very close attention to their financial portfolio and prepare carefully for their future.

I only touched on a couple points, but Mellody's an expert on this so click and paste this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mellody-hobson/the-looming-retirement-cr_b_85390.html for the full story, it's an interesting read.