Asia-Pacific Power List 2024: Yoshiaki Okabe, Shiseido

Yoshiaki Okabe 

Chief marketing & innovation officer and brand officer
Shiseido
Japan
New member

A dynamic leader with a penchant for innovation, Yoshiaki Okabe currently serves as chief marketing & innovation officer (CM&IO), and chief brand officer for brand Shiseido. Having been with the company for over 35 years, Okabe’s strategic vision has been focused on merging the worlds of research and development with consumer-focused marketing to enable the brand to stand out in a sea of cluttered beauty and skincare products.

As CIO, Okabe has spearheaded initiatives to accelerate innovation by integrating technology with consumer insights, leading to significant increases in operational speed. Under his leadership, the organisation has also established systems that maximise technology use at the corporate level, specifically enhancing the application of research and data-led insights across all Shiseido brands. This approach has notably led to Shiseido capturing the number one spot in the wrinkle category and creating the new 'sagging market'.

In his role as CMO, Okabe has driven Shiseido's marketing with the launch of innovative products such as the ‘Foundation serum’. The product, developed using the brand’s serum-first technology, has been a commercial success, generating substantial social-media buzz and exceeding three million shipments.

Shiseido launched several major marketing initiatives in 2023. These included the ‘Shiseidoverse:150 Years to the Future’ campaign that celebrated Shiseido's 150th anniversary with an immersive experience that combined virtual and physical elements, including a unique online-merge-offline (OMO) journey and a livestreaming party with consumers and ambassadors. Linked to that was the ‘From Life Comes Beauty’ campaign, featuring the brand's past, present, and future through omni-channel communications via thematic video with the boyband Mirror from Hong Kong.

Okabe's commitment to bridging global trends with local innovation is also evident in his work to strengthen Shiseido’s innovation centers across the globe. These centers focus on specific regional needs, such as halal compliance, and foster collaborations with local companies to quickly adapt and deploy cutting-edge technologies.

Beyond product innovation and market expansion, Okabe fosters a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within Shiseido. He emphasises a balanced approach in leadership—ensuring diversity in gender, nationality, and career background among his teams. This balanced leadership extends to environmental sustainability efforts. Shiseido has partnered with the Chitose Group to explore sustainable alternatives like algae for product development and has initiated the BeauRing project in Japan, aiming for a circular and recycling society through chemical recycling trials in Yokohama.

Under Okabe's leadership, Shiseido continues to evolve as a leader in the global beauty industry, blending innovative technology with deep market insights to create beauty products that resonate with consumers worldwide.