Chanel's CEO Leena Nair awarded UK's Commander of the British Empire honour for leadership in retail & consumer sector
Leena Nair (55), Global Chief Executive Officer of fashion giant Chanel, on Wednesday was awarded Britain's Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) honour for her leadership in retail and consumer sector.
The British-Indian woman was honoured with the CBE by Prince William, the Prince of Wales, during an investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, United Kingdom.
'Leena has built a global reputation for progressive human-centred leadership, delivering holistic business impact for the long-term. Under Leena's leadership, Chanel has continued to drive its brand excellence, enhance client experience, and accelerate its sustainability commitments,' Chanel said in a statement on Wednesday.
The award is part of the 2025 King's New Years Honours list which recognises individuals for their distinguished service or achievements in the UK.
'It is an honour to receive this extraordinary recognition. I am deeply grateful for the unconditional support of my family and for the wisdom and generosity of all the people at Unilever and Chanel. I share this honour with all these wonderful people who have accompanied my career journey and shaped my values. I am especially thankful to my amazing team at Chanel, to whom I dedicate this award. This inspires me to continue to lead Chanel with audacity and integrity and to strive to have a positive impact in the world,' Nair said in the statement. Leena Nair at the investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, United Kingdom.
Leena Nair was raised in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. She lived in India during her childhood and early career.
She holds an MBA degree from XLRI Jamshedpur.
Leena has been Global CEO at Chanel since January 2022.
She had spent 30 years at consumer goods multinational Unilever. At the company, she became the first female, first Asian, and youngest ever Chief Human Resources Officer.
She had also served as a member of the Board of the Leverhulme Trust, and as a non-executive director at BT Plc. and the UK government's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
25 minutes ago
- India Today
Might go up: Trump signals hike in auto tariffs for more US production
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned he may soon hike auto tariffs, arguing that could prod carmakers to speed U.S. investments."I might go up with that tariff in the not-too-distant future," Trump said at a White House event. "The higher you go, the more likely it is they will build a plant here."Automakers have been pressing the White House to reduce the 25% tariffs Trump imposed on autos. The Detroit Three automakers have criticised a deal that would cut tariffs on British car imports but not on Canadian or Mexican Trump cited a series of recent investment announcements, including GM saying this week that it plans to invest $4 billion in three U.S. plants and move some SUV production from Mexico. He also noted a $21 billion Hyundai investment announced in March including a new U.S. steel plant."They wouldn't have invested 10 cents if we didn't have tariffs, including for manufacturing American steel, which is doing great," Trump said last month that cars assembled in Mexico and exported to the U.S. will face an average tariff of 15%, not 25% because Washington is giving automakers reductions for the value of U.S. are facing increasing cost pressures stemming from tariffs. In recent weeks, Ford Motor F.N and Subaru of America 7270.T have hiked prices on some models due to higher costs from Trump's tariffs. In May, Ford estimated tariffs would cost it about $1.5 billion in adjusted said last month it had a current tariff exposure of between $4 billion and $5 billion, including about $2 billion on the more affordable vehicles GM imports from South Korea, where it makes entry-level Chevrolet and Buick InMust Watch
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Air India plane crash: At $120 million+, insurance claim to be costliest for Indian aviation
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The catastrophic crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday is likely to trigger the costliest aviation insurance claim involving an Indian airline, with claims estimated to exceed $120 million, people familiar with the matter the estimated payout, the hull loss—the insured value of the aircraft— alone could be around $80 million, while passenger liability compensation could add between $30-50 total liability payout could be significantly higher, with one estimate pegging potential passenger-related claims at over $100 million, given the presence of several high-networth individuals AIG was the lead insurer and others including New India Assurance had written part of the policy. The aircraft was covered under a global reinsurance programme, placed in the London market, whereby most of the risk is ceded to international insurers like Tata AIG, New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India, Oriental and ICICI Lombard General have retained less than 10% of the risk, market participants said. State-owned reinsurer GIC Re has 5% on the reinsurance treaty and will see a claim of about $4.1 million, they said.'Today's incident… is expected to trigger claims under both the hull and liability sections due to the total loss of the aircraft and the fatalities. Such losses generally affect multiple reinsurers, as airline fleet policies are often placed on a facultative basis involving several participants. Since liability claims take time to quantify, it is currently difficult to assess the impact on future pricing," said Ramaswamy Narayanan, CMD of GIC Re.'This would be one of the biggestever claims involving an Indian airline,' said Sourav Biswas, aviation business head at Alliance Insurance Indian carriers have witnessed few major accidents. In 2010, a Boeing 737 operating from Dubai crashed on landing at Mangalore, killing 158. Another crash at Kozhikode in 2020 claimed 21 these two incidents led to insurance payouts of about $60–70 million, including hull and liability, insurance industry insiders said. A Tata AIG spokesperson said as the lead insurer for Air India, the company is closely monitoring the situation. Air India's liability limit is up to $1.5 billion, an inurance executive aware of the subject said. There could be around $250,000 per passenger potential liability for bodily injury or bodily injury leading to death, added the person who did not want to be named. The crash is likely to harden reinsurance rates across the board. Aviation insurance is a global pool, and any large loss in one part of the world impacts pricing everywhere.'This will affect renewals next year,' a senior reinsurance executive said.'Aviation rates may go up globally, and more so in markets like India where loss ratios have otherwise been benign.' Tata Group-owned Air India's aviation insurance policy is typically renewed on April 1 each year, with a panel of insurers led by global brokers in New India Assurance had traditionally led the placement for the national carrier, Tata AIG is understood to have taken over that role since the airline's privatisation. New India and other Indian insurers now hold supporting roles, industry executives said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Indian inventors set patent records
Bengaluru: Anil Agiwal, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, rose as one of India's prominent inventors, filing an impressive 2,010 patents in the country. This milestone was highlighted through a GreyB research study, a consultancy known for its expertise in innovation intelligence, which ranked him among the Top 50 Indian inventors driving patent filings in India. Agiwal's work centres on breakthroughs in cellular communication, notably in 4G, 5G, and 5G Advanced radio access technologies. Agiwal, associated with Samsung Research America, is noted not only for his 2,010 Indian patents but also for holding 471 US patents. His journey began with a campus placement at Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore following his graduation from IIT Kharagpur in 2002. GreyB's assessment considered patents published between 2016 and 2023 within each inventor's portfolio. Kapil Bhattad, an IIT Madras graduate who now serves as senior director of engineering at Qualcomm in Bangalore, holds 1,647 patents. He completed a BTech in electrical engineering from IIT Madras in 2002 and went on to receive a PhD from Texas A&M University. Jaidev Rajnikant Shroff, Chairman and Group CEO of UPL, and Vikram Rajnikant Shroff, a director in the company, ranked third and fourth with 1,195 and 998 patents, respectively. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Venkateswarlu Jasti, chairman and managing director of Suven Life Sciences, took the fifth ranking with 788 patents. The GreyB listing aims to spotlight the notable achievements of Indian inventors by analysing the Top 50 in the country. Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI, a microelectronics industry group, said: "Semiconductor companies honour and reward employees for their patents, recognising this as the lifeblood of innovation. Employee inventors are typically rewarded with a combination of financial incentives and recognition. These may include cash bonuses, plaques, and public acknowledgment, often tied to milestones in the patent process, like application filing or patent issuance. Early in my career at AT&T Bell Labs, my patents helped me advance my career. I put a premium on rewarding my employees for their patents at every stop in my career." According to Satya Gupta, president of the VLSI Society of India, an increase in the number of patents often leads to a drop in quality. "Out of 1,000 patents filed globally, only 10 may be impactful. This is the story not just with Indian companies but also multinationals. They want to accumulate patents," he said. Gupta also highlighted that patents are generally registered to company names, not individual employees, due to standard intellectual property clauses in employment agreements that assign ownership of such creations to the employer. GreyB's findings showed that inventors and researchers working at Qualcomm, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and several Asian firms including Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi, made the largest number of patent submissions in India. This underscores India's growing importance as a market for global technology firms. In 2025, 3,520 patents were approved from 9,000 applications. Indian inventors received over 1 lakh patents in 2024. IESA president Ashok Chandak noted that both Indian and global technology companies have started viewing intellectual property as a vital strategic resource. They use it to stand apart in the market, accrue economic benefits, create enduring business models, attract investors, raise company evaluations, and strengthen their positions in international negotiations. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
