Luxury brand Chanel chooses Unilever’s Nair as CEO

By The Associated Press

The luxury fashion house Chanel has chosen Leena Nair, an industry outsider from India and longtime executive at Unilever, to be its new CEO. Nair said in a Twitter post that she was “humbled and honored to be appointed the Global Chief Executive Officer of @CHANEL, an iconic and admired company.” The news, announced Tuesday, made a huge splash in India, Nair’s birthplace, where Nair received scores of congratulations and compliments, one calling her a “serial glass-ceiling breaker.” While Nair is not a part of the Paris fashion scene, Chanel has a wide range of products in addition to its fashion designs. Nair is due to step into her new role in January.