Meet Leena Nair, the new Indian origin CEO of luxury brand Chanel

French luxury brand Chanel has named Leena Nair, former chief human resources officer...

...(CHRO) of Unilever, as its global chief executive officer.

After Parag Agrawal, Nair also joins the list of Indian origin executives ruling global companies.

Leena Nair was the first female and youngest-ever CHRO of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Unilever.

52-year-old Nair would be taking over her new position, as Chanel CEO in January 2022.

In 2007, she became Hindustan Unilever's youngest executive director...

...and the first woman in the management committee of Hindustan Unilever, in 90 years, heading its human resources department.

In 2016, she was appointed as the CHRO and member of Unilever Leadership Executive.

She had joined Hindustan Unilever in 1992 as a management trainee.

Nair has also won several awards like ‘role model of the year’ in Great British Business Women's Awards 2021..

...and was part of Fortune India's Most Powerful Women's List 2021, and many more.

Nair was born and raised in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

She studied electronics engineering at Walchand College of Engineering in Sangli, Maharashtra.

After studying electronics engineering, she joined Xavier School of Management (XLRI) Jamshedpur in 1990.