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By Silvia Aloisi and Mimosa Spencer
PARIS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - French fashion house Chanel named
Leena Nair, an executive from Unilever, as its new
global CEO on Tuesday, recruiting a consumer goods veteran to
run one of the world's biggest luxury goods groups.
Nair's career at Unilever spanned 30 years, most recently as
the chief of human resources and a member of the company's
executive committee.
A 52-year old Indian national, Nair is a rare outsider at
the helm of the tightly controlled family fashion house, known
for its tweed suits, quilted handbags and No. 5 perfume.
She follows U.S. businesswoman Maureen Chiquet, who came
from a fashion background and was CEO of Chanel for nine years
until early 2016. She was not replaced until now.
Chanel said in a statement that 73-year old French
billionaire Alain Wertheimer, who owns Chanel with his brother
Gerard Wertheimer, would move to the role of global executive
chairman of the group, which started out as a hat boutique on
rue Cambon in Paris.
Chanel was founded in 1910 by fashion legend Gabrielle
"Coco" Chanel and grew to become a byword for French chic.
The group said Nair, who at Unilever oversaw 150,000
people, would join at the end of January and be based in London.
It added that the new appointments would ensure its "long-term
success as a private company."
The recruitment of Nair, who rose through the ranks of
Unilever having started out as a trainee on the factory floor,
comes as the fashion industry is under pressure to show a more
inclusive approach.
Under her watch Unilever achieved gender parity across
global management, according to a Harper's Bazaar profile
published last month, which also highlighted her commitment to
pay the living wage across the supply chain.
Nair serves as a non-executive board member at British
Telecom and has previously served as non-executive director of
the British government's business, energy and industrial
strategy department.
Chanel has fiercely defended its independence and only began
publishing financial results in 2018. It said in July it
expects to increase sales by double digits this year compared
with their 2019, pre-pandemic level of $12.3 billion.
(Additional reporting by Siddharth Cavale
Editing by Susan Fenton)
