Indian-Origin Leena Nair Appointed Chanel's New Global Chief Executive Officer

Formerly Chief Human Resources Officer at Unilever, she was the first woman to have donned that hat.

File photo of Leena Nair.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Leena Nair/Altered by The Quint)

Leena Nair, formerly Chief Human Resources Officer of Anglo-Dutch FMCG major Unilever – the first female, first Asian and youngest-ever person to have donned that hat, has now been appointed as the Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by luxury group Chanel.

Nair is now the second Indian-origin woman to take over as a global CEO after Indra Nooyi.

Taking to Twitter, on Tuesday, 14 December, Nair said:

"I am humbled and honoured to be appointed the Global Chief Executive Officer of Chanel."

"I will always be a proud advocate of Unilever," she further added.

The Indian-born British national has been given the charge of ensuring Chanel's "long term success as a private company," the company said in a statement, recognising Nair as a "visionary leader whose ability to champion a long-term, purpose-driven agenda is matched with a consistently strong record of business outcomes."

According to PTI, Unilever in a statement said:

"Leena Nair, CHRO, has decided to leave the company in January 2022 to pursue a new career opportunity as Global Chief Executive Officer, Chanel Ltd."

Unilever's CEO, Alan Jope, thanked her for her "outstanding contribution," adding that she "has been a pioneer through her career... a driving force on our equity, diversity and inclusion agenda... she has played a critical role in building our purpose-led, future-fit organisation."

A British national, Nair hails from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. She graduated with a gold medal from XLRI – Xavier School of Management in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

Her career at Unilever spans 30 years.