Chanel named Leena Nair, a former Unilever executive, as its new global CEO on Tuesday, appointing a consumer goods veteran to lead one of the world’s largest luxury goods groups.
Nair worked for Unilever for 30 years, most recently as the company’s chief of human resources and a member of the executive committee.
Nair, a British national born in India, is a rare outsider at the helm of the tightly regulated family design firm known for its tweed suits, quilted purses, and No. 5 scent.
The 52-year-old succeeds Maureen Chiquet, a U.S. businesswoman who came from a fashion background and was CEO of Chanel for nine years until early 2016.
Alain Wertheimer, a 73-year-old French billionaire who owns Chanel with his brother Gerard Wertheimer and had previously served as interim CEO, will be promoted to global executive chairman.
Chanel was founded in 1910 as a hat boutique on rue Cambon in Paris by fashion legend Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and grew to become a byword for French chic.
Nair, who oversaw 150,000 people at Unilever, would join the group at the end of January and be based in London, according to the group. It went on to say that the new hires would ensure its “long-term success as a private company.”
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The hiring of Nair, who rose through the ranks of Unilever after beginning as a trainee on the factory floor, comes at a time when the fashion industry is under pressure to be more inclusive.
According to a Harper’s Bazaar profile published last month, under her leadership, Unilever achieved gender parity across global management, as well as her commitment to pay a living wage across the supply chain.
Nair is a non-executive board member at BT and formerly served as a non-executive director of the British government’s department of business, energy, and industrial strategy.
Chanel has fiercely defended its independence and has only recently begun publishing financial results. It stated in July that it expects sales to increase by double digits this year compared to their pre-pandemic level of $12.3 billion in 2019.
According to Luca Solca, a luxury goods analyst at Bernstein, Chanel is following a trend of attracting top executives from the consumer packaged goods industry.
“Unilever and P&G stand tall as management reservoirs for the relatively young luxury goods industry,” he said, referring to LVMH general manager Antonio Belloni, a former president of Procter & Gamble in Europe, and Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda, who is also a P&G veteran.
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