E.l.f. and Billie Jean King are ‘serving facts’ about the lack of diversity on corporate boards

E.l.f Beauty is venturing beyond cosmetics to make a social statement, specifically about diverse board membership, enlisting tennis legend Billie Jean King in a “Serving Facts” campaign. The video campaign from e.l.f.’s longtime purpose work agency, Oberland, has King serving tennis balls inscribed with facts to corporate employees and directors about the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities on corporate boards. Those facts include that women make up only 27% of U.S. corporate boards and that the average corporate board is 88% white, according to a 2023 analysis of the BoardEx Non-Executive Director Database. E.l.f. is one of only four publicly traded U.S. companies out of 4,200 with a board of directors that’s two-thirds women and one-third diverse, according to an analysis of S&P 500 Global Marketing Intelligence by the company. “E.l.f. Beauty believes it is important that it reflects the diverse communities we serve, and that means everywhere,” said Kory Marchisotto, chief marketing officer of the company, in a statement. “We believe the inclusivity of our board of directors and executive team has been a driving factor in our extraordinary business results over the past five years.” That includes 20 consecutive quarters of net sales growth, including an 85% increase to $270.6 million in the fiscal third quarter reported in February. “Serving Facts” also is linked to e.l.f.’s partnership with the National Association of Corporate Boards to create an accelerator program to train and create visibility for 20 women and/or diverse board-ready candidates. “Fighting for gender equality and inclusivity has been the driving force in my life for 70 years,” King said in a statement. “E.l.f. Beauty is leading change in the boardroom and showing us investment in equality and inclusivity will ultimately be rewarded with tangible results.”

E.l.f. and Billie Jean King are ‘serving facts’ about the lack of diversity on corporate boards

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