NEW DELHI: Leena Nair, India based British citizen, has been named as the new CEO of French fashion giant Chanel. 

52-year-old follows US businesswoman Maureen Chiquet who had been serving as the CEO of Chanel for over nine years. 

She is an executive from Unilever and will be running the world's biggest luxury goods groups. She had been working with Unilever for 30 years.

Recently, Leena was named as the chief of human resources and a member of the company's executive committee.

Chanel was founded in 1910 by fashion legend Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. It started off as a hat boutique on rue Cambon in Paris and went on to become a popular fashion house. 

Apart from Unilever, Nair serves as a non-executive board member at BT and was non-executive director of the British government's business, energy and industrial strategy department.

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

— Leena Nair (@LeenaNairHR) December 14, 2021