Chanel Taps Unilever HR Chief as New CEO -- Update

   By Joshua Kirby 
 

Chanel SA said Tuesday that it has appointed Unilever PLC's Leena Nair as chief executive, with incumbent Alain Wertheimer taking on a new role at the privately-held French fashion house.

Ms. Nair is currently chief human resources officer at the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group, Chanel said. She will become global CEO at the end of January, and will be based in London.

Ms. Nair has had a 30-year career at Unilever, joining the executive committee in 2016. She has also held nonexecutive posts at BT Group PLC and the U.K.'s business and energy ministry.

"Leena Nair is highly respected as a visionary leader whose ability to champion a long-term, purpose-driven agenda is matched with a consistently strong record of business outcomes," Chanel said.

Mr. Wertheimer, a grandson of the business partner of Chanel's eponymous founder Coco Chanel, will meanwhile become global executive chairman.

The new partnership will "further ensure [Chanel's] long-term success as a private company" that "believes in the freedom of creation, cultivating human potential and acting to have a positive impact in the world," the company said.

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2021 09:38 ET (14:38 GMT)

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