‘Inclusion is at the heart of everything I do’

LEENA NAIR, who will become the new CEO of French fashion house Chanel in January, has joined a long list of Indian-origin corporate executives steering global brands.

She was the first female, first Asian and youngest-ever chief human resource officer at Unilever, the company she joined as a management trainee nearly 30 years ago.

On her new role, Nair said on Twitter, “I am humbled and honoured to be appointed the Global Chief Executive Officer of @CHANEL, an iconic and admired company”.

Talkig about the firm she is leaving, she said, “I will always be a proud advocate of @Unilever and its ambition to make sustainable living commonplace.”

According to the British Indian, building a gender-balanced workplace has been one of her priorities.

Born in 1969 in Kolhapur, a city in the state of Maharashtra, India, Nair graduated in electronics and telecommunication at Walchand College of Engineering in nearby Sangli.

She obtained her master’s degree in business management with a gold medal from the noted institute XLRI, before joining Hindustan Unilever, the Indian arm of the British consumer goods giant Unilever, in 1992. Fifteen years later, she became the first woman to be appointed to the company’s south Asia leadership team, where she led the firm’s talent and organisation strategy.

An advocate of compassionate leadership, Nair was then elevated as the chief HR officer. In 2016, she became a member of the Unilever leadership executive, where she was responsible for the company’s human capital needs.

Nair said she feels her purpose is to “ignite the human spark to build a better business and a better world”. Being “open to feedback” helped her during her time at Unilever, which has operations in 190 countries, she revealed.

“I have always been open to feedback. Well, perhaps not from the start! After taking a few knocks along the way, I realised I needed to hear feedback so I didn’t continue to make the same mistakes. Being open to feedback and learning helps you take risks and be flexible,” she said earlier this year.

Nair was previously a nonexecutive board member at British telecom firm BT, and a steering committee member of the World Economic Forum. She has said it is important to “adapt to every culture”.

“I believe every voice matters,” she said in a 2019 interview. “Inclusion is at the heart of everything I do.”

In November 2008, Nair witnessed terrorism from close quarters in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel, when it came under attack from armed militants.

“When terrorists attacked the Taj in Mumbai, I was stuck in the hotel with the Unilever senior team and my spouse. It was the hardest, most difficult night I have ever been through. Debris was constantly falling, and you could hear gunshots and screams throughout the night. You’re hiding in a corner of the room, desperately hoping that you’re not found…”

But she and her team escaped through a window, helped by a rescue team.