Meet woman who leads Rs 3,24,000 crore company as CEO, has net worth of over Rs 340 crore, she is from...

Leena Nair, the Indian-origin global chief executive officer (CEO) of the French luxury fashion house Chanel, has been awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) -- a top honour in Britain. The 56-year-old received the award from the UK's Prince William on Wednesday (June 11). The award is a recognition for the top fashion executive's "outstanding contributions to the retail and consumer sector," according to an official statement.

Rose through the ranks
Nair, born in Maharashtra's Kolhapur, pursued her early education from Holy Cross Convent High School in the city. She then studied Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering in the state's Sangli city. Nair ewnt on to completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resources from the Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur. She completed her MBA in 1992 and joined as a trainee at Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), where she rose through the ranks. She eventually became the first female and the youngest Chief Human Resources Officer of Unilever (HUL's parent company) -- a position she resigned from in 2022 to join Chanel. With her appointment at the fashion giant, she became its first-ever Indian-origin CEO.

Recognitions & net worth
Over the decades, Nair has received a number of esteemed awards and recognitions. She has been named on Fortune India magazine's Most Powerful Women list twice, in 2021 and 2025. Besides, she has been part of Forbes magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business list. Nair's net worth is estimated to be around USD 40 million or more than Rs 342 crore.
She is married to Kumar Nair, a financial services entrepreneur, and the couple has two sons.