e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) announces the latest expansion of its Change the Board Game initiative with the launch of a new 12-week course at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, bringing its mission to democratize access to the highest seats of power directly to the next generation of leaders.
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e.l.f. Beauty is bringing its Change the Board Game initiative to UC Berkeley through a new student-led, 12-week DeCal course created in partnership with the Undergraduate Marketing Association. Photo Credit: Karen Santos
e.l.f. Beauty, a champion of positivity, inclusivity and accessibility, created Change the Board Game to help double the rate at which women and people of color are added to U.S. public company boards of directors by 2027. The initiative is focused on expanding the networks, knowledge and pathways that can lead qualified leaders to board service.
The UC Berkeley course extends that work to students to help prepare them for their professional journeys. Created in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Undergraduate Marketing Association (UMA) and The Berkeley Forum, the course will give students direct access to people, perspectives and experiences that are helping shape corporate leadership today.
Throughout the semester, students will hear from e.l.f. Beauty executives and changemakers across a number of topics, including executive leadership, board service, marketing, finance, technology and AI, and people and talent. Students will explore the role and responsibilities of corporate boards, pathways to board-level positions and how diverse perspectives can impact decision-making and business outcomes, alongside professional development focused on networking, interviewing, personal branding and career exploration. Students will put those perspectives into practice through a semester-long collaborative project, bringing their point of view to Change the Board Game to explore new ways the initiative can reach the next generation and how its principles can make leadership more inclusive across companies and industries.
Change the Board Game is rooted in e.l.f. Beauty’s belief that its inclusive Board of Directors has aided its performance.
- e.l.f. Beauty is among less than 1% of approximately 3,700 U.S. publicly traded companies with a Board of Directors that is at least 60% women and at least 40% diverse. Source: ISS Board Composition Database, July 9, 2026.
- This stands in contrast to broader corporate America, where women hold only 28% of public company board seats and 74% of public company directors are white. Source: ISS Board Composition Database, July 9, 2026 for NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies headquartered in the U.S.
“We created Change the Board Game because the boardrooms shaping our future should reflect the full richness of the world we live in—and the communities companies serve. Representation in the highest seats of power is not symbolic; it shapes the questions that get asked, the decisions that get made and the possibilities that get created,” said Kory Marchisotto, President, e.l.f. Brands.
“Talent has never been the issue. Access has. Bringing Change the Board Game to UC Berkeley gives students an earlier invitation into the conversations, relationships and experiences that can help make the path to the boardroom feel real—and within reach.”
Marchisotto was on campus yesterday, joining The Berkeley Forum for a fireside chat with students on challenging the status quo across beauty, business and the boardroom. Speaking to her nearly 30-year journey in beauty, she defined risks and decisions that shaped her career and shared her perspective as both a business leader and board member on the importance of expanding access and representation at the highest levels of leadership.
Since launching in 2024, Change the Board Game has grown from a call for greater representation into a multi-year initiative spanning awareness, research, advocacy, education and direct investment in board-ready talent. It has brought together change champions across business, nonprofit organizations and academia who believe that inclusivity and performance go hand in hand.
Through strategic initiatives, board-readiness and placement partnerships, research, advocacy and now education, Change the Board Game is addressing access at multiple points along the leadership pipeline—from preparing qualified executives for board service today to introducing students to the possibility of board service long before they are ready for their first board seat.
- Almost 500 leaders have joined the Change the Board Game coalition, all committed to creating more accessible boardrooms and working as a collective to advance representation of qualified Board members and candidates
- Over 60 executives have participated in e.l.f. Beauty and the National Association of Corporate Directors® Accelerate program, a two-year board-readiness program that provides education, mentorship, networking and opportunities to increase visibility with the director community
- 58% of graduates who have completed the Accelerate program are now serving on boards, demonstrating the power of intentional investment in building a stronger pipeline of board-ready talent
Want to Change the Board Game? Visit ChangeTheBoardGame.com to learn more and get involved.
About e.l.f. Beauty
e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) is fueled by a belief that anything is e.l.f.ing possible. e.l.f. is a different kind of company that disrupts norms, shapes culture and connects communities, through positivity, inclusivity and accessibility. The mission is clear: to make the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip and face. e.l.f. Beauty and its brands, e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, e.l.f. Hair, rhode, Naturium and Well People, are led by purpose and driven by results. e.l.f. Beauty offers e.l.f. clean and vegan products, all double-certified by PETA and Leaping Bunny as cruelty free, and proudly stands as the first beauty company with Fair Trade Certified™ facilities. With a kind heart at the center of e.l.f.’s ethos, the company donates 2% of net profits to organizations that make positive impacts.
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