Leena Nair Explained

Leena Nair
Birth Date:11 June 1969
Birth Place:Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
Nationality:British[1]
CEO, 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

Nair was born on June 11, 1969, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in a Hindu 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

Unilever

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

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

Awards and recognition

Personal life

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. They have two sons.[32]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leena Nair . 14 July 2023 . businessoffashion.com .
  2. Web site: Who is Leena Nair, the new CEO of Chanel. India Today .
  3. Web site: Leena Nair . 14 July 2023 . gov.uk .
  4. News: PTI. 2021-12-15. Chanel appoints Unilever executive Leena Nair as Global CEO. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-12-15. 0971-751X.
  5. Web site: Leena Nair. 2021-12-12. Unilever. en-GB. 12 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211212101642/https://www.unilever.com/our-company/our-leadership/leena-nair/. dead.
  6. News: Rapid Fire with Unilever's CHRO, Leena Nair. Pant. Drishti. people matters. 8 August 2019.
  7. Web site: Indian origin Leena Nair to join BT Board. S. Radhakrishna N.. 2019-06-29. EasternEye. 2019-08-08.
  8. Web site: At a glance. 2021-12-12. Unilever. en-GB.
  9. News: Unilever likely to name Leena Nair as its global HR chief . The Economic Times . Chakravarty . Chaitali . Malviya . Sagar .
  10. Web site: Hougaard. Rasmus. How Unilever Develops Leaders To Be A Force For Good. 2021-12-12. Forbes. en.
  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
  12. Web site: As good as it gets. 21 November 2012 . business today. 10 February 2013.
  13. 2023-08-27.
  14. The Wall Street Journal, "Chanel's Unexpected CEO Is Reinventing the Company," Aug 27, 2023 https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/leena-nair-chanel-ceo-unilever-e2c2b697
  15. Web site: Ward. Marguerite. Chanel's incoming Global CEO, Leena Nair, could shake up the future of fashion. 2022-01-02. Business Insider. en-US.
  16. Web site: Indian-origin Leena Nair is new Chanel Global CEO. 15 December 2021. Connected to India.
  17. https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/leena-nair-chanel-ceo-unilever-e2c2b697?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 "WSJ - Chanel's Unexpected CEO Is Reinventing the Company"
  18. News: Indra Nooyi lauds Leena Nair's leadership skills, says it was an honour to see the next Chanel CEO grow. The Economic Times. 2022-01-02.
  19. Web site: Fashion house Chanel hires Indian-born Leena Nair as CEO. 2022-01-02. NBC News. 16 December 2021 . en.
  20. Web site: Leena Nair - Board of directors - Group governance - Our company BT Plc. 2021-12-12. www.bt.com. en. 12 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211212110507/https://www.bt.com/about/bt/our-board/leena-nair. dead.
  21. Web site: THE LEVERHULME TRUST - Charity 1159154. 2021-12-12. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. en-GB.
  22. Web site: ICRW Leadership Council. 2021-12-12. ICRW PASSION. PROOF. POWER.. en-US.
  23. Web site: Leena Nair. 2021-12-12. GOV.UK. en.
  24. Web site: Most Powerful Women . Fortune . en.
  25. Web site: Top Self-Made Women in 2022 . Forbes India . 11 January 2023.
  26. Web site: 2021 Alumni. 2021-12-12. Great British Businesswoman Series. en.
  27. Web site: Power is force of good in the world: Unilever's Leena Nair. 2021-12-12. www.fortuneindia.com. 8 November 2021 . en.
  28. Web site: LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: United Kingdom. 2021-12-12. www.linkedin.com. en.
  29. Web site: LinkedIn Top Voices 2019: United Kingdom. 2021-12-12. www.linkedin.com. en.
  30. Web site: Leena Nair - Thinkers50. 2021-12-12. thinkers50.com. 29 March 2019. en-US. 12 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211212110512/https://thinkers50.com/radar-2019/leena-nair/. dead.
  31. News: Jacobs. Emma. Fildes. Nic. 2017-09-27. HERoes ranking: champions of women in business. Financial Times. 2021-12-12.
  32. How Unilever's Head of HR Sees The Future of Work. 2021-12-12. Time. en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Leena Nair".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.