ELF Brings ‘Change the Board Game’ Initiative to U Cal

ELF Beauty has expanded 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 to the next generation of leaders.

The Happi Top 50 Company created Change the Board Game to help double the rate at which women and people of color are added to US 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, per the brand. Change the Board Game is rooted in ELF Beauty’s belief that its inclusive Board of Directors has aided its performance.

“Talent has never been the issue. Access has,” said Kory Marchisotto, president, ELF Brands. “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.”

The UC Berkeley course helps prepare students 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 modern-day corporate leadership.

The Role of Corporate Boards

Throughout the semester, students will hear from ELF Beauty executives and changemakers across several 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.

ELF Beauty is reportedly among less than 1% of roughly 3,700 US publicly traded companies with a Board of Directors that is at least 60% women and at least 40% diverse. This stands in contrast to broader corporate America, where women hold a reported 28% of public company board seats and 74% of public company directors are white.

Since its inception in 2024, nearly 500 leaders have joined the Change the Board Game coalition to create more accessible boardrooms and work as a collective to advance representation of qualified Board members and candidates.

Over 60 executives have participated in ELF 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. Fifty-eight percent 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, officials said.