Ariel Capital Management president Mellody Hobson has been nominated to join the board of directors of Tellabs, the Naperville, Ill-based communications infrastructure firm. With more than $8 billion in assets under management, Chicago-based Ariel Capital Management serves as the investment advisor to the Ariel Funds.
"As a respected member of the investment community, Mellody will play a key role in providing Tellabs with a strategic perspective of the overall market, said Michael Birck, Tellabs' chairman.
Hobson will replace Brian Jackman, who is stepping down after nine years. Jackman retired from Tellabs last year. Tellabs' stockholders will vote on Hobson's nomination at the company's annual meeting scheduled for April 23.
Hobson joined Ariel in 1991 as senior VP and director of marketing, and she was named president of the firm in 2000. As president, Hobson oversees the firm's corporate, public and non-profit institutional relationships, and leads the firm's marketing and strategic planning initiatives.
Hobson already serves on the boards of the Field Museum, which provides education on the diversity of nature and cultures and Do Something, a non-profit organization for young people. She also serves as the director for the Chicago Public Library.
