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Leena Nair

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Leena Nair
Nair in 2022
Born (1969-06-11) June 11, 1969 (age 55)
Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
NationalityBritish[1]
Alma mater
TitleCEO, Chanel

Leena Nair (née Menon, born 1969) is a British-Indian[2] business executive who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Chanel.[3][4] Nair previously was the chief human resource officer of Unilever and member of the Unilever leadership executive.[5][6][7] Nair was responsible for the human capital of Unilever, which operates across multiple regulatory and labour environments spread over 190 countries. Under her leadership, Unilever has been named the number one FMCG graduate employer of choice in 54 countries.[8][9] Nair is an advocate for human-centred workplaces and compassionate leadership.[10]

Early life and education

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Nair was born on June 11, 1969, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in a Hindu Malayalee family.[11] She studied at Holy Cross Convent High School Kolhapur, and The New College Kolhapur. After completing her bachelor's degree in electronics and telecommunication (E&TC) Engineering at Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli (Maharashtra), she graduated from XLRI – Xavier School of Management as a gold medallist (1990–1992). Apart from working in Jamshedpur, she also worked at three different factories in Kolkata, Ambattur, Tamil Nadu and Taloja, Maharashtra.[12]

Career

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Unilever

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Nair first joined Unilever as a summer intern and then became a management trainee of Hindustan Unilever in 1992.[13] Between 1992 and 2007, she took various roles in factories, sales and corporate headquarters in Hindustan Unilever. In 2007, she became Executive Director HR of Hindustan Unilever Limited.

After twenty years at Unilever, Nair took a position at global headquarters in London.[14] In 2016, Nair became Unilever's "first female, first Asian, youngest ever" chief human-resources officer.[15]

Chanel

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Recruited to Chanel by Alain Wertheimer, Nair was appointed chief executive officer of Chanel in December 2021[16] and she started assuming the role in January 2022.[17] In her first year she visited over 100 company retail locations as well as manufacturing sites and regional offices, and familiarized herself with key fashion leaders, including Chanel's creative director, Virginie Viard. Nair's initiatives have included several launches as Chanel invests more heavily in retail. A major new boutique in Tokyo showcases a focus on standalone stores selling watches and fine jewelry and in 2022 the company introduced an eco-focused cosmetic, beauty and fragrance line, N°1 de Chanel. Chanel has also expanded its private salons designated for top clients.

Nair counts Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo[18][19] and Nigel Higgins, the chairman of Barclays bank, among her mentors.

Other responsibilities

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  • Non-Executive Board Member – BT plc[20]
  • Member of the Trust Board - Leverhulme Trust[21]
  • Steering Committee member – The Future of Education, Gender and Work, WEF (2017–present)
  • Leadership Council Member – International Centre for Research on Women (2019 – present)[22]
  • NED on the UK Government's department of Business, Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS) (2018- 2020)[23]

Awards and recognition

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  • Ranked 70th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.[24]
  • Forbes India's Top Self-Made Women's List (aka W-Power) (2022)[25]
  • Role Model of Year, The Great British Businesswoman's Awards (2021)[26]
  • Fortune India's Most Powerful Women's List[27] (2021)
  • Global Indian of the Year – The Economic Times' Prime Women Leadership Awards (2020)
  • LinkedIn Top Voice (2018–2020)[28][29]
  • Thinkers50 List – Thinkers Who Will Shape the Future of Business (2019)[30]
  • Top 10 list of FT HERoes Champions of Women in Business by the Financial Times (2017–2019)[31]
  • Recognized by Queen Elizabeth II as one of the accomplished Indian Business Leaders in the UK (2017) [citation needed]

Personal life

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Nair is the daughter of K. Karthikeyan, and the cousin of industrialists Vijay Menon and Sachin Menon, who hail from Kerala state. Their company Menon Pistons is part of the $70 million Menon Group. She is married to Kumar Nair, a financial services entrepreneur.[13] They have two sons.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Leena Nair". businessoffashion.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Who is Leena Nair, the new CEO of Chanel". India Today.
  3. ^ "Leena Nair". gov.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Chanel appoints Unilever executive Leena Nair as Global CEO". The Hindu. PTI. 15 December 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Leena Nair". Unilever. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  6. ^ Pant, Drishti. "Rapid Fire with Unilever's CHRO, Leena Nair". people matters. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  7. ^ S, Radhakrishna N. (29 June 2019). "Indian origin Leena Nair to join BT Board". EasternEye. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. ^ "At a glance". Unilever. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  9. ^ Chakravarty, Chaitali; Malviya, Sagar. "Unilever likely to name Leena Nair as its global HR chief". The Economic Times.
  10. ^ Hougaard, Rasmus. "How Unilever Develops Leaders To Be A Force For Good". Forbes. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  11. ^ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/indian-origin-ceos-leading-industries-across-the-world/manish-sharma/slideshow/89363480.cms&ved=2ahUKEwjvpOjX3pr_AhVyZ_EDHSXzCW0Qqb0CegQIABAj&usg=AOvVaw25vHxugbRHCnq3HsvK0RBX[dead link‍]
  12. ^ "As good as it gets". business today. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  13. ^ a b Elisa Lipsky-Karasz (27 August 2023). "Chanel's Unexpected CEO Is Reinventing the Company". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q121886668. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  14. ^ The Wall Street Journal, "Chanel's Unexpected CEO Is Reinventing the Company," Aug 27, 2023 [1]
  15. ^ Ward, Marguerite. "Chanel's incoming Global CEO, Leena Nair, could shake up the future of fashion". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Indian-origin Leena Nair is new Chanel Global CEO". Connected to India. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  17. ^ "WSJ - Chanel's Unexpected CEO Is Reinventing the Company"
  18. ^ "Indra Nooyi lauds Leena Nair's leadership skills, says it was an honour to see the next Chanel CEO grow". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Fashion house Chanel hires Indian-born Leena Nair as CEO". NBC News. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Leena Nair - Board of directors - Group governance - Our company | BT Plc". www.bt.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  21. ^ "THE LEVERHULME TRUST - Charity 1159154". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  22. ^ "ICRW Leadership Council". ICRW | PASSION. PROOF. POWER. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Leena Nair". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  25. ^ "Top Self-Made Women in 2022". Forbes India. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  26. ^ "2021 Alumni". Great British Businesswoman Series. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Power is force of good in the world: Unilever's Leena Nair". www.fortuneindia.com. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  28. ^ "LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: United Kingdom". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  29. ^ "LinkedIn Top Voices 2019: United Kingdom". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Leena Nair - Thinkers50". thinkers50.com. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  31. ^ Jacobs, Emma; Fildes, Nic (27 September 2017). "HERoes ranking: champions of women in business". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  32. ^ "How Unilever's Head of HR Sees The Future of Work". Time. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
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