When Chanel announced that Lena Nair would take over as global CEO of the French fashion house, the fashion industry received big news. It was a surprise and an unexpected result that Lena Nair will join Chanel in January 2022 and will replace Alain Wertheimer, who will become Chanel's global chairmanship.
It is reported that since the departure of Maureen Chiquet in 2016, the fashion company has not yet had a global CEO, why Lena Nair, an outsider in the fashion industry, can become Chanel's global CEO, this is a new change in the fashion industry, or Lena Nair can bring more benefits to Chanel. First, we need to know who Lena Nair is.
A British man from India
Lena Nair, an Indian-born Englishman, was born in a small town in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, the daughter of the late industrialist Ram Menon, who attended St Cross Monastery High School.
She later became a student at Kohlhapur New College and then earned a degree in electrical engineering from The Walhand School of Engineering in Sangley – where she discovered she had a "gift for management."
"One of the best pieces of advice I got was from my college professor before my career started, and he sat me down and said, 'You know, you're going to be a really bad engineer.'" But I think you have a talent for management. You like to be with people," she wrote on Instagram.
After deciding not to become an engineer, Lena Nair began pursuing a master's degree at Xavier School of Management in Jamsheedpur, where she earned an MBA in Human Resources.
A career of twists and turns
In 1992, Lena Nair joined Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) as a management trainee, becoming the first female employee to work in factories across India.
When Lena Nair joined the company, most of the company's staff were men, but the businesswoman said her time studying for a male-led degree meant she was well positioned to navigate the gender gap. "With 3,000 boys and 18 girls in the School of Engineering, the four years there made me stronger and thickened my skin, and I learned how to take my chances in a space dominated primarily by men," she told The Khaleej Times. More than two decades ago, when she started working at Unilever in Hindustan, the factories didn't even have women's toilets, and after making sure some of the toilets were built for her, they were jokingly called "Leena's Loos." "I've learned a lot about factories and production, the shop floor ecosystem, the importance of resilience. It made me," she told Time magazine.
Later, her leadership and perseverance helped her rise quickly, and in 2013, she was named Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Unilever. That same year, she became Head of Global Diversity. In 2016, she moved to London and joined the Unilever Leadership Executive Programme as a member. She later became Unilever's first woman, first Asian and youngest Chief Human Resources Officer. This is the role she has been in for more than five years.
During her 30 years with the company, Unilever has been named the employer of choice for FMCG graduates in 54 countries. She also works very hard to ensure that Unilever is diverse and inclusive and that Unilever is a people-centred, compassionate workplace.
Over the years, Lena Nair's incredible leadership and human-centered approach to the workplace has earned her numerous awards.
Her most notable achievements include Role Model of the Year at the 2021 British Businesswoman Awards, appearing on Fortune magazine's list of India's most powerful women and being named one of britain's most accomplished Indian business leaders by Queen Elizabeth II.
Lena Nair has not only made waves in the fashion world, but her key new role. She also happened to break records and make history in the process. Her LinkedIn account hails her as Unilever's first ever woman, first Asian, youngest CHRO, and now, she's welcome for an impressive new position.
Why did Lena Nair become CHANEL's Global CEO?
In an Instagram post, Lena Nair said she was "honoured to be named Global CEO of Chanel, an iconic and well-respected company". "I was inspired by what Chanel represented," she said. "It's a company that believes in creating freedom, cultivating human potential and taking action to make a positive impact on the world."
What has left more people wondering why Chanel would choose a British businesswoman without fashion as their global CEO. Chanel said Lena Nair "is highly respected as a visionary leader who is able to support a long-term, goal-oriented agenda and has a consistently strong track record of business outcomes." ”
Is Chanel randomly choosing a global CEO? No. In fact, in the process of filling the CEO position, there is a lot of screening, research and review. Since The departure of Maureen Chiquet in 2016, the fashion house has not had a global CEO. French billionaire Alain Wertheimer, 73, who owns Chanel with his brother Gerard Wertheimer, previously temporarily ceo, will now serve as global executive chairman. Lena Nair will take over from a previously vacant position by Maureen Chiquet.
Without a fashion background, Lena Nair will rely on her abilities to become a strong, influential leader and will leverage a people-centred approach that has allowed her to achieve her current achievements. She will single-handedly lead one of the world's leading and most respected fashion brands. With her extensive HR experience and leveraging her history of securing workplace attitudes and consumer relationships, Lena Nair remains the focus of the business's success.
While it's not uncommon for fashion brands to hire people from consumer goods companies for senior positions, they often come from marketing departments because of their expertise in managing brands – the most important asset of luxury fashion companies.
Imran Amed, founder and CEO of fashion commerce, an influential industry news site, said. Chanel's decision to hire Lena Nair is based on her long-standing background in human resources, underscoring the company's efforts to adapt to changing consumer and workplace attitudes towards sustainability and diversity.
He said competitors such as Kering Group, which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, have been quicker to establish "leadership" in terms of rising consumer awareness of the industry's environmental impact and the importance of inclusive hiring in the race for talent. Lena Nair "has been focused on these kinds of topics during her time at Unilever," Amed said. "I think this marks a very important challenge for CHANEL in its quest to modernize its corporate culture. Her appointment is seen as a sign of rising status as India's business leader. Amed said this is also a milestone for women because few people lead big luxury brands.
For Chanel, this is seen as a unique opportunity for brands to consciously strive to listen to outsiders' perspectives and be led by people who can drive the company's long-term success in new directions.
Text/Fashion Guangzhou New Media Intern Liang Yingchen
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