CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | MAY 22, 2023 | $3.50
Hobson’s choices are getting a bit awkward
Scott Goodman
As Ariel co-CEO, she manages union pension funds; at Starbucks, she fights unionization campaign
Seven years after splitting to launch Farpoint, Sterling Bay co-founder Scott Goodman puts his stamp on the city with high-profile projects like the Michael Reese redevelopment I BY DANNY ECKER
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cott Goodman spent three decades tapping private investors to help turn Sterling Bay from a two-person real estate startup into one of Chicago’s most prominent developers. For his second act, he’s leaning a lot more on the public sector. Seven years after walking away from the Chicago real estate powerhouse he co-founded, Goodman’s Farpoint Development is emerging as a power player with a collection of high-profile projects: The firm leads a team of developers that began work in March on a $3.8 billion transformation of the See GOODMAN on Page 56
Mellody Hobson bers means more union pension money to manage. Hobson also risks alienating current Ariel clients such as the SEIU and other unions. While in most cases the unions don’t have outright control over the pension funds and their investing decisions, unions could exert pressure on fund trustees to dump Ariel. Still, Hobson says in a statement that “I see no conflict in my primary day job as co-CEO and See HOBSON on Page 58
JOHN R. BOEHM
Diving into work that others avoid
The high-profile, increasingly bitter union organizing campaign at Starbucks puts Mellody Hobson in a tight spot. In her day job, she’s co-CEO of Ariel Investments, which manages hundreds of millions in pension funds for union workers, including members of the Service Employees International Union. On the side, she serves as chairman of Starbucks as it battles SEIU’s efforts to unionize the coffee chain’s stores. “It’s a contradictory position she finds herself in,” said Robert Bruno, a professor and director of the labor studies program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Starbucks’ resistance to unionization is at odds with Ariel’s interests as a union pension fund manager. Growth in union membership at Starbucks and elsewhere would be good for Ariel’s business; more union mem-
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BY BRANDON DUPRÉ
2023 GUIDE TO STRATEGIC GIVING
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Zeb McLaurin, a partner with Goodman on the Bronzeville and Englewood projects
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REAL ESTATE
JOE CAHILL
Sam Zell’s companies face a future without their charismatic chairman. PAGE 4
Bears don’t need taxpayer help to move to Arlington Heights. PAGE 3
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