Indian-origin Leena Nair was on Tuesday named the Global Chief Executive of French luxury group Chanel. In a statement on Tuesday, the group said the 52-year-old, who has had a long stint at consumer goods giant Unilever, would join them in January 2022 and that the new appointments would ensure its “long-term success as a private company.”

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Alain Wertheimer, who owns the luxury brand along with his brother Gerard Wertheimer and had taken on the CEO job on a temporary basis, would move to the role of global executive chairman.

“I am humbled and honoured to be appointed the Global Chief Executive Officer of CHANEL, an iconic and admired company,” Nair tweeted.   

Leena Nair, who is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, joined HUL, Unilever’s Indian subsidiary in 1992. Her career at the consumer goods giant spanned 30 years, most recently as the chief of human resources and a member of Unilever’s executive committee.

“I am grateful for my long career at Unilever, a place that has been my home for 30 years. It has given me so many opportunities to learn, grow and contribute to a truly purpose-driven organisation.  I will always be a proud advocate of Unilever and its ambition to make sustainable living commonplace,” Nair tweeted.

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Thanking Nair for her contribution, Unilever CEO Alan Jope said in a press release, “I would like to thank Leena for her outstanding contribution over the last three decades. Leena has been a pioneer throughout her career at Unilever, but no more so than in her role as CHRO, where she has been a driving force on our equity, diversity and inclusion agenda, on the transformation of our leadership development, and on our preparedness for the future of work. She has played a critical role in building our purpose-led, future-fit organisation, which is now the employer of choice in over 50 countries globally.”