Chanel CEO Leena Nair was ‘the first at every job’ she’s done, ‘woman, Asian, Indian’ – and received thousands of letters from women and girls praising her role with the French luxury fashion brand
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The CEO of Chanel said she got about 7,000 emails and letters from women and girls praising her appointment, she told The Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
![Leena Nair had been working in corporate throughout her entire life. Photo: @leenanairhr/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/08/31/e2facee1-3151-4a13-a8bb-b442a9360c68_7390c88c.jpg)
The French luxury retailer appointed Leena Nair as its second female boss in its 113-year history in January 2022.
“I’ve been the first at every job I’ve done. The first woman, the first brown person, the first Asian, the first Indian – but I don’t want to be the last, and I am going to try and make it easier for those who come after me,” Nair told the Journal, adding that one of her mottos is “lift as you climb”.
![Models present creations by designer Virginie Viard as part of her haute couture autumn/winter 2023-2024 collection show for fashion house Chanel on the banks of the River Seine in Paris, France, on July 4. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/08/31/34f15e08-53b1-4194-aedd-42605fcc4f4c_4482c01a.jpg)
Nair said she’d been told she couldn’t do something “because I’m a girl” many times in her life. The 54-year-old added that “afterwards, you stop listening”.
![Leena Nair worked as an exec at Unilever before she joined Chanel in January 2022. Photo: @leenanairhr/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/08/31/dda1a7f2-9ade-4052-89ee-72468eec922f_d7491f3d.jpg)
Nair was previously chief human resources officer at consumer goods giant Unilever before joining Chanel.
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- Nair was an exec at Unilever before joining French luxury brand Chanel, where she became the second female boss in its 113-year history in January 2022, taking over from co-owner Alain Wertheimer
- Fortune’s Global 500 rankings of the world’s companies by revenue found that just 6% have a female CEO – but Nair hopes to ‘make it easier for those who come after me’