Shiseido Co., Ltd. announced Women’s Wear Daily's (WWD) Beauty Inc has awarded Shiseido honorary chairman Yoshiharu Fukuhara its 2012 Visionary of the Year Award in recognition of his strategic development of the global business and rich contributions to the cultural value of Shiseido and the industry in total. This honor celebrates the achievements of Fukuhara amid the backdrop of Shiseido’s 140th anniversary.
In acceptance of the award, Fukuhara’s words were presented at a breakfast award ceremony held in his honor on December 13, 2012, in New York. “In this milestone year, I am very honored to receive the most prestigious award in the cosmetic industry,“ he shared. “If I can share my vision, I believe that everyone involved in the cosmetics industry must use their work to propose new values to move society forward in a positive fashion. I would like to encourage everyone to work together to further develop this industry with an eye toward what we can do to give back--and transform our world into a more beautiful place to live."
Pete Born, executive editor of beauty, WWD, commented, “Mr. Fukuhara truly defines the tenets of the word visionary. During his time at Shiseido, he brought East to West, and in so doing helped define the modern look of beauty. Among his many accomplishments: he was one of the first pioneers to go into China, back in the early 70s. He established his company’s business in the U.S. and Europe, and championed the marriage of cultural creativity and corporate responsibility before such words were even in our lexicon. Although his grandfather started the business, he governed with a deep feeling of humanism, a trait that continues to characterize Shiseido as a company today.”
Yoshiharu Fukuhara, the grandson of Shiseido founder Arinobu Fukuhara, was born in Tokyo in March 1931. In 1953, he graduated from Keio University with a degree in economics and joined Shiseido Co., Ltd. that same year. In 1966, he was appointed as a representative director of Shiseido Cosmetics (America) Ltd., and assumed the title director and general manager of international operations in 1978 and spearheaded business development in France in 1980. In 1981, he laid the foundation for Shiseido's global expansion, including the start of sales in China. He became President and CEO of the company in 1987 and served in this position for the next 10 years, and subsequently assumed the post of chairman of the board in 1997. Since 2001, he has served as honorary chairman, his current post.
