Key Takeaways:

• e.l.f. Beauty is expanding its Change the Board Game initiative.
• The 2024 program has demonstrated tangible successes.
• The program reinforces the need for diversity and inclusion within the beauty industry.

When it comes to leadership, e.l.f. Beauty is rewriting the rules of the board game. Within an increasingly competitive market, beauty companies need to represent more than just their products and services, which is exactly what e.l.f. Beauty is doing with Change the Board Game. The brand just announced the launch of its third cohort for their National Association of Corporate Directors, a program cycle featuring 22 executives, the largest group to date.

Launched in 2024, the Change the Board Game campaign was introduced to increase the representation of women and people of color on US public company boards of directors. The initiative features a variety of sub-initatives, including “Serving Facts,” a campaign specifically dedicated to confronting the lack of women in corporate boardrooms. It featured tennis icon Billie Jean King, who highlighted a variety of facts regarding the lack of diversity in the workplace, acknowledging that women made up only 27% of US corporate boards, and that the average corporate board in the US is 88% white.

Another notable campaign is “So Many Dicks,” which was featured on a series of billboards across New York City’s financial district. The messages highlighted diversity statistics, one stating that there are 566 men on US-based public company boards named Richard, Rick, or Dick, yet there were only 283 Hispanic women on these same boards.

e.l.f. also released The Not So White Paper, highlighting the correlation between boardroom diversity and company success. However, e.l.f. Beauty not only discusses diversity and creates campaigns; their dedication to the mission also appears in their own boardroom. The brand is one of only four publicly traded companies with an executive board that is two-thirds women and one-third ethnically diverse, and it aims to double the rate of women and people of color on corporate boards by 2027.

e.l.f. has already reported measurable results from the program, with over 60 executives participating in the NACD Accelerate program through Change the Board Game, and 58% of program completers now serving on boards.

Tarang Amin, Chairman and CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, said in a press release that “creating more inclusive boardrooms requires intentionality,” which is precisely the emphasis of Change the Board Game. “Through Change the Board Game, we're helping exceptional leaders gain the preparation, access, and networks needed to secure board opportunities.” Rather than simply advocating for more diverse boardrooms, e.l.f. intends to create measurable opportunities that put underrepresented groups into the leadership spaces they belong in.

The Change the Board Game program aims to extend e.l.f.'s influence by giving more women and people of color the opportunity to secure corporate board seats and have their voices heard across the industry.

The program signals a broader shift in the beauty industry, moving beyond product innovation and marketing toward purpose-driven initiatives. Influence in the beauty sector is no longer limited to sales and growth; now a company’s ability to create and promote a more diverse and inclusive environment can change the future of their brand. If the Change the Board Game program continues to produce success stories, similar programs could become an industry staple for cultivating the next generation of diverse leaders in the corporate world.