Leena Nair

Leena Nair (née Menon, born 1969) is a British-Indian business executive who is the Global CEO of Chanel. Nair previously served as the Chief Human Resource Officer of Unilever and member of the Unilever Leadership Executive. 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. Nair is an advocate for human-centred workplaces and compassionate leadership.
Early life and education
Nair was born on June 11, 1969, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in a Hindu family. She studied at Holy Cross Convent High School Kohlapur, 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.
Career
Unilever
Nair first joined Unilever as a summer intern and then became a management trainee of Hindustan Unilever in 1992. 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. In 2016, Nair became Unilever's "first female, first Asian, youngest ever" chief human-resources officer.
Chanel
Recruited to Chanel by Alain Wertheimer, Nair was appointed chief executive officer of Chanel in December 2021 and she started assuming the role in January 2022. 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 and Nigel Higgins, the chairman of Barclays bank, among her mentors.
Other responsibilities
Non-Executive Board Member – BT plc
Member of the Trust Board - Leverhulme Trust
Steering Committee member – The Future of Education, Gender and Work, WEF (2017–present)
Leadership Council Member – International Centre for Research on Women (2019 – present)
NED on the UK Government's department of Business, Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS) (2018- 2020)
Awards and recognition
Forbes India's Top Self-Made Women's List (aka W-Power) (2022)
Role Model of Year, The Great British Businesswoman's Awards (2021)
Fortune India's Most Powerful Women's List (2021)
Global Indian of the Year – The Economic Times’ Prime Women Leadership Awards (2020)
LinkedIn Top Voice (2018-2020)
Thinkers50 List – Thinkers Who Will Shape the Future of Business (2019)
Top 10 list of FT HERoes Champions of Women in Business by the Financial Times (2017-2019)
Recognized by Queen Elizabeth II as one of the accomplished Indian Business Leaders in the UK (2017)
Personal life
Nair is the daughter of K. Karthikeyan, and the cousin of industrialists Vijay Menon and Sachin Menon, who hails from Kerala state. She is married to Kumar Nair, a financial services entrepreneur. They have two sons.
References
1969 births
Living people
Businesswomen from Maharashtra
People from Kolhapur
Indian women chief executives
British women chief executives
Businesspeople from Maharashtra
Indian chief executives
British chief executives
Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom
British businesspeople of Indian descent
British people of Malayali descent
Unilever people
XLRI – Xavier School of Management alumni
21st-century Indian businesswomen
21st-century Indian businesspeople
21st-century British businesswomen
21st-century British businesspeople