Leena Nair: From the Factory Floor to the Runway of Change

The first Indian-born woman to lead Chanel, Leena Nair’s rise from HR to haute couture is not just corporate history—it’s a redefinition of what leadership looks like in luxury.

When Chanel announced in 2021 that Leena Nair—formerly Unilever’s Chief Human Resources Officer—would be its new Global CEO, the fashion world did a double take. She wasn’t from LVMH. She hadn’t spent decades at the helm of a fashion house. She had no design background. What she had was something the luxury world rarely talks about: people expertise.

Born in Kolhapur, India, and educated at the Xavier School of Management, Nair began her career at Unilever in 1992, rising through the ranks in a system not designed to accommodate her. She was the company’s first female, first Asian, and youngest-ever CHRO. And what she learned over those three decades is this: luxury, like leadership, is about culture.

At Chanel, a maison fiercely protective of its legacy and identity, Nair has taken a quiet but powerful approach. She speaks often of "purpose," “humanness,” and “listening.” She’s not redesigning collections. She’s redesigning how people feel inside the company. She's committed to sustainability, equity, and building Chanel not just as a brand, but as an employer of choice in a new era of global accountability.

In interviews with The Times and Financial Times, Nair has expressed a firm belief: “Soft power is the new strong.” For a house that has lived through both Karl Lagerfeld’s opulence and Virginie Viard’s minimalism, her presence signals something different altogether—cultural transformation.

She’s also notably private. Her public appearances are rare. Her leadership style? Unflashy, intentional, and distinctly non-Eurocentric. She is, as Business of Fashion described, “a quiet storm in the most conservative corner of fashion.”

ULM Insight:

Leena Nair doesn’t fit the mold. She expands it. Her appointment at Chanel shows that excellence in luxury is no longer just about heritage—it’s about horizon. And sometimes, the most radical thing in fashion isn’t a silhouette. It’s who gets to shape the future.

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