In a series of conversations with top women beauty leaders about their passion points within their jobs, Shiseido’s Gail Boye, SVP, Product Development bareMinerals and Corporate Innovation and Commercialization, said the impactful and positive measures a global firm can have on communities and their people is the driving force for her in the beauty industry.

“I admit I was drawn to the beauty business for its glamour, but in time I realized how working for large global companies also allows employees to get involved with meaningful causes. As a product developer I can express my support and passion for causes through the products I create. I am very proud of one such project, when I was at Avon, where we created a fair trade body care line in 2011—before it became mainstream. I worked with Fair Trade USA and identified and partnered with various women’s cooperatives around the world to obtain fair trade certified ingredients. I personally travelled to East Jerusalem to visit the cooperative where the olive oil was sourced to gain a hands-on understanding of fair trade and its positive impact on the community. This experience prepared me for the meaningful work at bareMinerals: creating vegan, cruelty-free products, and supporting the clean movement. During my work with the Shiseido Makeup Center of Excellence my team and I were heavily involved with the initial steps to supporting Shiseido America’s commitment of having 100 percent sustainable packaging by 2025.  These types of alternative and impactful measures have created a driving force and devotion in me for this industry.”

Gail is a 2021 CEW Achiever Award Honoree. To learn more about Gail’s career journey, rise to success and key learnings along the way, make sure to attend this year’s CEW Women’s Leadership Awards virtual event September 9 from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.