The Shiseido story: Ensuring inclusive leadership development in a regional HQ with 16 nationalities
Summary
Shiseido Asia Pacific places a ‘People first’ philosophy at the core of its HR strategy, designing inclusive leadership and career development initiatives for a diverse, multigenerational workforce spanning 16 nationalities. Key programmes include the Asia Learning Centre (since 2019), the Inspirational Leadership Programme (ILP) and Accelerated Leadership Programme (ALP) for leaders, and the 2024 Career Pathways regional mobility scheme. The company also embeds DE&I and the TRUST 8 behavioural framework into learning, uses stretch assignments and job rotations to build capability, and has been recognised as a Great Place to Work across the region.
Key Points
- Shiseido’s ‘People first’ approach shapes policies, flexible work, wellness and continuous engagement across 16 nationalities.
- Leadership development tailored to Millennials and Gen Z: ILP (six-month hybrid) and ALP (two-month experiential) to build leadership behaviours, design thinking and business acumen.
- Career Pathways (launched 2024) provides structured internal mobility, personalised development plans and manager-led mentorship for cross-functional moves.
- Asia Learning Centre (since 2019) has improved performance and engagement; it’s evolving with digital and self-paced learning aligned to business needs.
- DE&I learning and TRUST 8 principles (e.g. Thinking Big, Collaborating, Being Accountable) are embedded to ensure culturally sensitive, inclusive leadership across the region.
- Stretch assignments and job rotations in HR, Digital, E-commerce and Supply Network are used to build cross-functional skills and have received positive employee feedback.
- Regional recognition: Great Place to Work (Singapore HQ 2023, 2024) and Best Companies to Work For in Asia in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Content Summary
Roselin Lee, VP HR at Shiseido Asia Pacific, explains how the company turns the vision of being the ‘Home and Source for Talent’ into practice via targeted learning, mobility and inclusion initiatives. Programmes like ILP and ALP are designed to match younger generations’ desire for purposeful growth and hands-on development. The Career Pathways programme expands internal mobility across commercial and corporate functions, supported by the Asia Learning Centre’s upskilling resources. DE&I modules and the TRUST 8 framework ensure leadership development is culturally aware and consistent across nationalities. The approach combines structure (formal programmes and competency training) with flexibility (stretch roles, job rotations and hybrid learning).
Context and Relevance
This feature is relevant to HR and business leaders navigating talent scarcity, multigenerational expectations and the need for internal mobility. It reflects current HR trends: shifting from transactional L&D to career ecosystems, embedding DE&I in leadership development, and using stretch assignments as retention and capability-building tools. Shiseido’s approach shows how a regional HQ can harmonise global values with local cultural sensitivity while scaling programmes across markets.
Author style
Punchy — the piece focuses on pragmatic HR moves you can learn from: concrete programmes, measurable recognition and practical steps to balance inclusivity with business outcomes. If you work in HR or lead APAC teams, the details are worth a proper read.
Why should I read this?
Quick heads-up — if you’re building talent pipelines or trying to make leadership development actually work across countries, this is a neat, real-world checklist. Shiseido lays out programmes, cultural levers and mobility tools that you can steal, adapt or benchmark without wading through jargon.