I recently had the opportunity to see Chanel Global CEO Leena Nair be interviewed by Forbes Executive Vice President Moira Forbes at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit in New York, NY. Nair has carved a unique leadership career path. Starting as a management trainee at Unilever India and being the only woman to work the night shift, she spent 30 years at the $50.5B global consumer goods company, eventually becoming the first female, first Asian, and youngest Chief Human Resource Officer at Unilever, then leaving to take on the role of CEO at Chanel in 2022.

Despite having no prior experience leading a luxury brand, Nair has made strides at Chanel - including a strong 16% year-on-year sales jump to $19.7 billion in 2023. Here’s what she can teach executives about leadership, AI, and creating value in today’s businesses.

Focusing On People and Employee Engagement Is Good For Business

When she started at Chanel as CEO - Nair set an ambitious goal - to know everyone in the company on a first-name basis. “I know everyone’s names and faces…I’m not done yet…I’m up to 20,000” she relayed in an interview for Stanford’s View From The Top podcast. This was also brought up during the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, elaborating that she not only wants to know all employee names, but also “what makes them passionate [at work], what do they enjoy, what we do what can we do better - so it’s really putting [employees] at the center of my efforts.”

Building positive relationships across an organization and cultivating employee satisfaction has correlating business impacts. According to a study of 4,277 employees across 21 months by Turkish company Ziraat Ban, happy employees experience an average increase of 3.41 units in their performance score. Not only does high engagement dissuade ‘ quiet quitting ’ of current employees, it also creates a pathway for future hires at the company. Employees with high wellbeing at work are 6.5 times more likely to recommend their employer to others, in contrast to low wellbeing workplaces, according to the 2025 Good Day at Work Report by management consultancy Robertson Cooper.

Let AI Enhance, Rather Than Replace, Employees

Nair’s approach to AI is focused on augmentation rather than employee replacement. “Prioritizing people in a world of AI is what we’re going to stand for” Nair relayed at the summit, “Everything we do in AI is about enhancing human skills,” she stated. This can be reassuring for employees to hear, as 44% feel overwhelmed by the pressure to learn and use AI at work, according to a recent AI Worker Report by Resume Now.

Half of Americans fear that AI could put them or someone in their household out of work, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll . As we continue to navigate the rules, policies, and functions of AI at work, prioritizing the actual people who use AI and base decisions from it is going to yield the highest chance of success for companies. Human skills that cannot be replaced by AI like judgment, empathy, creativity, and relationship-building are becoming more valuable. Introduce tools such as AI only when it makes sense and augments an individual’s worklife, rather than subtract from it.

An Outside Perspective Can Be A Business Advantage

Nair arrived at Chanel with a long career in HR rather than fashion or luxury. This jump is rare, with only 3% of CEOs coming from a HR background , according to a 2026 Future CEO report by executive search firm Livingston James. Nair sees this as a benefit to any company, relaying “Being an outsider is a huge advantage, because you go in with so much curiosity and humility. You really don’t know the answers. You’re asking questions from a genuine place of curiosity” at the summit.

Admitting not knowing the answer to everything is a refreshing leadership characteristic. Organizations seek high performers to challenge the status quo - which requires questioning assumptions and putting forth a different perspective. The best leader for a business is not necessarily the person who has spent the most time there. Sometimes, it’s the person who brings a new viewpoint. Non-linear careers are becoming more common, with 38% of global workers feeling that they do not want a linear career and would rather experience different types of jobs across various sectors, according to global HR consulting firm Randstad’s 2026 Workmonitor report .

Nair’s leadership at Chanel shows that creating business value starts with understanding people. By prioritizing employees, using AI to enhance human capabilities, and bringing an outsider’s perspective, she offers executives a reminder that effective leadership puts people at the forefront of the business.