OAKLAND, Calif.- e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) announces momentum in its Change the Board Game initiative, including an expanding coalition of partners and new data to support boardroom inclusivity as a business driver.
Change the Board Game has brought together like-minded change champions who celebrate both inclusivity and performance. More than 70 individual leaders and 20 organizations 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 through strategic initiatives, board readiness and placement partnerships, and advocacy efforts.
Change the Board Game is rooted in e.l.f. Beauty’s belief that its inclusive Board of Directors has aided its performance, including its 26 consecutive quarters of net-sales growth and market-share gains. e.l.f. Beauty Chairman and CEO Tarang Amin recognized the opportunity to make the case for greater representation of qualified candidates in boardrooms everywhere.
e.l.f. Beauty is one of only five publicly traded companies among approximately 4,000 in the U.S. with a Board of Directors comprising 67% women and 44% diverse members.1 This represents a notable difference from broader corporate America, where women hold 28% of public company board seats and 74% of public company directors are white.2
“e.l.f. Beauty is built on positivity, inclusivity and accessibility and those values guide how we lead. We believe that when diverse voices come to the table, especially voices that reflect the communities we serve, everyone wins,” said Amin. “We’re proud of the diversity on our Board, and we don't want e.l.f. Beauty to be one of only five public companies at this level."
The coalition includes leaders, companies and non-profits committed to championing inclusive Boards of Directors. Partners include Pink Chip, Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR), 50/50 Women on Boards and Gaingels, which is among the largest global investors dedicated to showing the world that equity of access and representation in venture capital delivers positive returns, as well as many others.
“We launched Pink Chip to spotlight the strength of women-led companies,” said Sam Rowlands, Founder and CEO, Pink Chip. “With Pink Chip we are on a mission to unlock women’s economic power through data-driven financial products. Joining the Change the Board Game Coalition is a proud moment for us as it’s an extension of our mission to shape a financial system where inclusion drives proven performance.”
“Collective action is essential to build better boards in service to shareholders, stakeholders, and society,” said Thane Kreiner, PhD, Co-Founder, BCBR. “Now more than ever, we need excellence through authentically inclusive governance.”
Research conducted by North Carolina A&T State University (N.C. A&T), the nation's largest historically Black university, found additional correlations between gender diversity on U.S. publicly traded Boards of Directors and stronger Return on Equity (RoE). N.C. A&T found that every year between 2018 and 2024, U.S.-headquartered companies publicly listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ with above-average gender diversity on their boards achieved higher average RoE than those with below-average gender diversity, with the average annual outperformance being approximately 256%.3
The average gender diversity of Boards of Directors from 2018 to 2024 for all public companies headquartered in the U.S. and traded on NYSE and NASDAQ was 24.59%.3
“We've seen firsthand the power of inclusivity in our own boardroom. In building an allyship with other companies, nonprofits and universities that share this belief, we can, together, Change the Board Game,” Amin said.
e.l.f. Beauty invites companies, corporate Board members and organizations to further democratize access to the highest seats of power and join Change the Board Game coalition. To sign up and view resources, go to: ChangetheBoardGame.com.