Chanel picks Leena Nair as Global CEO: Anand Mahindra happy to see fashion world catch the 'good virus' of Indian CEOs

Congratulatory messages continue pouring in for Chanel's next Global CEO Leena Nair as she joins the list of Indian-origin executives who are at the helm of international organisations.

The 52-year-old HR professional is all set to handle her responsibilities at the luxury fashion house next month.

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra is thrilled to know that Indian CEOs are not restricted to Silicon Valley. He was happy to see the 'Fashion Alley' catch the ‘good virus’ of Indian CEOs.


"Bravo Leena! Keep making us proud," he wrote.


Last month, the billionaire called the long line of Indian-origin executives at Global Inc an 'Indian CEO Virus'. He said he was proud to say that this pandemic originated in India, and there's no vaccine against it.

His response came after Parag Agrawal was appointed as Twitter's new Chief Executive Officer.


Vedanta Resources Executive Chairman Anil Agarwal congratulated Nair on her appointment at Chanel. The mining boss said it was great to see one more Indian leader at the helm of a global company after Google's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Agrawal.

"Best wishes for her well-deserved role," his post read.


Earlier, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Edelweiss Mutual Fund CEO and MD Radhika Gupta had also congratulated Nair.

Nair became the the second Indian-origin woman after former PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi to be a CEO at an international organisation.

Since she is not a part of the fashion world, Nair is being hailed as a "serial glass-ceiling breaker".

Nair, who grew up in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, was the first female and youngest-ever Chief Human Resources Officer of Unilever - a position she resigned from to join the iconic luxury group.