Mellody Hobson

"I think it's a very simple call to action, is you put your money where your mouth is. So many people say and state an intention, but coming through is actually financially doing something about it. So in corporate America, there's been so much talk about equality and diversity and equity."

"Show me the map, show me the commitment of the dollars. Show me the diversity of the C suite. Show me the diversity of the board. And I can tell you who's really serious."

"Because the data is actually stunning. 95% of black and brown businesses in this country have less than $5 million in revenue. At the time of all the civil unrest with George Floyd's murder, many corporations were pledging to do more business with black and brown companies."

"Actually buy middle market businesses by virtue of our ownership? My word minoritize. Those businesses bring in black and brown executives, change the nature of those businesses with their boards, with their leaders, ultimately create businesses that are the preferred vendors, tier One suppliers."

"So I think the one thing about this unconscious bias and this inclusion, when we're in those environments, we have to however it works for you, make sure you are not being a bystander."

"I tell people diversity is our competitive advantage."

"What I would say is ESG is front and center in corporate America in a way that it hasn't been before. I tell people this is not a fringe issue, the train has left the station and vesters care about it. People who work inside of corporate America care about these issues and certainly we see that with just the broader community and the broader society."

"The first one, I would say that is near and dear to us at Ariel are statements and then actual backup around issues related to diversity and inclusion."

"We're still in maybe the artful phase of ESG and we're trying to get more and more precise and more and more scientific around data and metrics. But it's not a one size fits all approach."