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Leena Nair appointed as new CEO of luxury fashion house Chanel; Here's all you need to know about the her
All set to take over the reigns of Chanel, Leena Nair who was heading Human Resources, has no fashion background.
Luxury fashion house Chanel has appointed a new global CEO. Founded by Coco Chanel, the luxury French fashion house has appointed the 52-year-old Indian-origin Leena Nair who previously worked as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Unilever as the Chief Executive Officer of the brand.
With no background in the fashion industry, Nair is the 'First female, first Asian, youngest ever' CHRO of the group and is set to take over in January. The HR head who hails from Kolhapur in Maharashtra completed her graduation from Jamshedpur and began her career at Unilever as a management trainee. She eventually became the senior VP in HR back in 2013 and moved to London in 2016. Her career at Unilever spanned almost 30 years.
Nair will take over after Maureen Chiquet, a US-based businesswoman who hailed from a fashion background and acted as CEO for a total of 9 years. This decision comes as the brand along with a number of other fashion houses is under fire for not being inclusive enough. In her LinkedIn post, Nair said, "I am humbled and honoured to be appointed the global chief executive officer of Chanel, an iconic and admired company. I am so inspired by what Chanel stands for. It is a company that believes in the freedom of creation, in cultivating human potential and in acting to have a positive impact in the world." She was also grateful for her time at Unilever since the brand gave her opportunities to learn, grow and contribute to an organisation with purpose.
Unilever CEO Alan Jope thanked Nair for her contribution over the decades. "Leena has been a pioneer throughout her career at Unilever, but no more so than in her role as CHRO, where she has been a driving force on our equity, diversity and inclusion agenda, on the transformation of our leadership development, and on our preparedness for the future of work," he wrote and also acknowledged Nair's professionalism and compassion during the pandemic outbreak.
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