Masahiko Uotani

Masahiko Uotani is President and Group CEO of Shiseido, a Japan-based beauty company founded in 1872.

He has defined his mission as rejuvenating Shiseido so that the company becomes a major global player in this industry, building on the Japanese heritage it has embraced for many years. Shiseido currently employs 50,000 people and has revenues of $8 billion from multiple prestige brands such as SHISEIDO, clé de Peau BEAUTÉ, NARS, bareMinerals and Issey Miyake fragrance.

Mr. Uotani joined Shiseido in April 2014 after more than 30 years in marketing and management at both Japanese and global FMCG companies. Among his various posts, he was CMO and CEO at Coca-Cola in Japan. Mr. Uotani is the first Shiseido president to be appointed from outside of the company in its over 140-year history. This reflects the board’s determination to evolve the company from its Japanese roots to being a leading global business. Mr. Uotani is expected to bring fresh insights to the company by leveraging his global and Japanese business experience, which he refers to as a “hybrid model.”

Mr. Uotani also serves in other roles, including vice president of Japan Cosmetic Industry Association, director of Japan Business Federation, director of Japan Marketing Association and board member of Columbia Business School Japan Alumni Club.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1977 from Doshisha University, a sister school of Amherst College, and a Master of Business Administration degree in 1981 from Columbia Business School in NYC. He is married to Masako and has two daughters (as well as two dogs, who are important family members.)