The luxury fashion house Chanel has chosen Leena Nair, an industry outsider from India and longtime executive at Unilever, to be its new CEO.
Analysts say her hiring signals how the brand is accounting for changing consumer awareness of the industry’s environmental impact and the importance of diverse hires.
The appointment is full of “historic firsts," said Abhay Gupta, CEO and founder of consultancy group Luxury Connect in India. “It’s very encouraging and motivating, especially since we haven’t seen this before. Coming from a non-luxury background, I expect she’ll bring fresh perspective — it’s a sign that things are changing,” he said.
In a press announcement, Chanel said Nair's hiring “will further ensure long-term success as a private company." Nair is due to step into her new role in January and she’ll be based in London. While it’s not uncommon for fashion brands to tap people from consumer goods companies for senior jobs, they usually come from marketing departments because of their expertise in managing brands — a luxury fashion company’s most important asset.
Nair has “really been focused on these kinds of topics during her time at Unilever,” Amed said. “I think that that signals a really important challenge for Chanel as it seeks to modernize its corporate culture.”
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