>> you always looked different because you were the first woman, for his brown person, first indian, first person of

color to lead a global luxury brand. you are always the first. people don't know exactly what to expect. francine: lena neer is in charge of one of the most exclusive luxury brands in the world, chanel. it's known for its iconic designs and fragrances appointed her to the top job. previously a human resources veteran, she spent three decades at unilever before switching from consumer goods so hot could tour and beauty. the firm's history is legendary from its founder to it sounds -- fans including marilyn monroe. lena nair has a chance to make history. on this episode of leaders with laqua, i speak to lena nair about her professional and personal job. how it defines her leadership style and her unique approach at the top of the tree. thank you so much for joining us here on bloomberg. >> delighted to be here. francine: what's it like being a

chanel chief executive? >> it's creative, vibrant, the sectors doing well, it's a great place to be. francine laqua a difference do you want to make, on the business, longevity, what it stands for, sustainability? >> i hope to lead chanel into the future along with my team and lead chanel into the future by protecting what's unique about us and by evolving as a skilled iconic business is always important to understand the context. context we have externally as macroeconomic challenges, inflation, complete fragmentation, media channels, ecosystems and winning hearts and minds of people is so difficult in today's age. we see that with ai.

there's not a week you don't hear about ai, so all of this is happening externally and internally it's been a phase of rapid growth. in the last 10 years we have more than doubled our revenue, more than doubled the number of people and for us. we have more than doubled our distribution presence. we have more than doubled the number of countries. that's a lot of growth. so my role, along with my leadership team, is to ensure that we make coherent these changes, that we make sense of these changes, and we are constantly shaping what's next. francine: chanel is this beautiful high-end luxury, everybody one of the projects but it was secretive. it was opening through culture events, podcasts, why is that. can a high-end luxury company no longer be secretive in 2024? >> for me, never having been in

the world of luxury, sophistication or refinement, i didn't know what to expect when i came to chanel two and a half years ago. people are truly humble. it comes from a sense of we don't say things unless we really done them. so a integrity. so we would rather do things before we speak about them. so some of the shyness is been to do with that. i think part of it opening up is as i explained some of the internal context, we've been through rapid growth being in so many markets, having people work for us, it becomes important to be clearer and more open about who we are, what we stand for. it's important to say what we do to have been a beacon of inspiration and continue to be a beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years. francine: is that because we are buying luxury differently because they want more of the story than they did 10, 15 years ago? >> i think there is no typical

client and no one reason to engage in luxury. truly, we see all kinds of clients. people who are longtime fans of chanel, people who are dedicated buyers of hot could tour. first-time buyers. we see a lot of gen z. 35% of luxury consumers by 2030 are going to be gen z. it's a hard number to believe but it's the vibrancy, the vitality is huge. because each of those clients has a different set of reasons for why they engage with us. for gen z and alpha they buy because they want to buy less and by better. they want to buy because they see it's a financially wise investment. but everybody buys for different reasons. for me, it's part of continuing to build the brand, a reputation, a company, and telling a story in engaging ways to also see clients. francine: you have to speak

differently to the younger generations? >> not really. our story of craftsmanship, our story of how many hours goes into making this jacket, like a hundred hours all handmade is still the core of our story, our craftsmanship, it is still how people engage with lake street, the quality of it, the beauty of it, it gives us all joy. so that is still a very big reason our people look at luxury quality and being part of that. in the story of chanel, her dna, which he means rest, the spirit of innovating and radical ways because when she designed clothes, it was about the freedom of movement. it was about anticipating the needs of the modern woman in creating a cross body bag so that women could ride bikes, ride horses. it was about supporting women to

be and become. it was about being on this journey of self-discovery with women. in that core part of our story doesn't change. it is the story of being in support of women into being the best versions of themselves to discover themselves. in that story still engages, no matter what age you are. on the core of our story really doesn't change. how we say it might change, the more channels than we can count. today there are all sorts of things, instagram, tiktok. media channels change, but the core of the story is still very much we are. francine: i feel like when you talk about her it's may be telling a little bit about your story, you have a unique story. you grew up in a town in india where not many females were educated to a higher level. so what was that journey like?

>> it was a long journey. i grew up in a small town in the southwest of india and the world of luxury, refinement, sophistication was very far away from where i grew up. it was a small town like many other. most of my memories are of me running barefoot in the town are having a little bike. women being ambitious was not the norm, in fact i remember my mother constantly telling me i was so in vicious and if i knew what i was going to do with my life. so very limited access to models and tata opportunities. i did engineering after convincing everybody in my family that engineering was for girls. which is great, it was electronics in telecommunications and i enjoyed being in the minority. but learning a lot more about the world of technology, which we are all now part of and management studies. worked all over the country. i worked -- i had an all-around

experience, i worked in the shop floor, worked in frontline sales, road trucks selling t. it was a fun experience. it was an adventure. it meant being constantly underestimated. it meant that you always look different because you were the first woman, the first round person, the first asian, the first indian, the first person of color to lead a global luxury brand. you are always the first, you're always underestimated. people don't know what to expect. they are suspicious of what your gender might be and along comes with it is the responsibility of those that come after you. so i feel a tremendous privilege, tremendous sense of responsibility to make it easier. which means questioning norms, being a role model, mentoring is many people as i can, trying to make it easy for others, constantly channeling it. francine: you like a challenge, is there ever a challenge that you shied away from? >> every single thing i've done

it's almost as if somebody said it can't be done. i was in a factory and i said i want to go on the night shift and they said no, we don't permit -- we don't put women on the night shift. i said how can i be successful manager if i don't go on that night shift. in some ways it has fueled some of my determination, it has fueled some of my -- i'm going to show this sent some going to go on and do it. he gives me courage because i'm not just doing it for me, i'm doing it for everyone else that comes after me. it fuels my determination and fuels my courage. but i don't shy away from challenges. in when women asked me for advice i say put your hand up for the most difficult job, put your hand up for what's difficult. go in there and lean into things that are difficult and challenging because that's what gives you the greatest credibility, respect, reputation in your career.

francine: chanel's lena nair on the long-term outlook for lecturing on the changing role of what it means to be a chief executive. ♪

prancing: chanel is behind some of the most recognizable designs and fashion. the lecture he house is privately held by the billionaire family. involved with the company over the past century. i continued my rear interview with the firm's chief executive lena nair. do you see that the high-end luxury, does that even go higher in luxury? there's a lot of players in the fashion world, the luxury world and it's the one that's very high that will do well. does that also justify some of the price increases we have seen at chanel? >> our prices are -- prices. they are exquisite for materials and our production, as you know

it, is very rigorous, laborious, handmade. so we raise our prices according to inflation that we see so there linked to cost price. we've also made a commitment to price across the world. which means a client should not experience private differentials, no matter where they buy. francine: the market is something we see more and more in the last four to five years, what does that mean for a company like chanel? >> we always said we want our clients to buy from our beautiful stores because we believe our clients must enjoy the immersive fiscal experience where they build a relationship with the beauty advisor and the boutique assistant which is so magical to the chanel story. francine: how do you see the china market right now?

it's not that volatile. you have a base that stays for quite some time. quex china is the central market for the luxury ecosystem because of the appreciation of refinement and sophistication. so it's fairly important. i came back recently from china and i was really happy to see the energy and vibrancy in the market, so we continue to run the business and continue to invest in china for the long term. similarly u.s., i see u.s. as a long-term market for lecturing, it always has been. and all the markets see ebbs and flows, but if you keep a long-term perspective, you continue to invest. we just opened our store on 5th avenue, it is absolutely breathtaking with everything that you would expect in addition no boutique. great personalization, intimacy, beauty, things that uplift you.

so we believe in these markets and what they've brought to us. francine: it's probably chuffed -- tough being a chief executive in 2024 because of the constant change and we don't really know what ai brings either. >> it is, it is definitely a challenge. one of my principles as a leader is tapping into my collective intelligence because i truly believe the days of the superhero leader is behind us. the world is so complex, there are crises on multiple levels. imagine one individual, no matter how bright they are, how experienced they are can have answers to all the questions, no chance. that's why i believe in diverse perspectives, go around the world my best -- francine: you always say you lead and live, which is not always easy. >> in unilever, when i was going

to a place, a factory, i felt it was not safe for women, he would fight the battle to make sure it was made safe for women. i was always questioning the norms, challenging what was happening so i can make it easy for others that come after me. it's beautiful at chanel we have 76% women and 60% of my management team are women. it's easier to set into place everything to support the development of all these women and create a more equal work. francine: would you ever going to menswear, which chanel go to menswear? let's it's a rare time in our history where we have a female founder, female creative director, fashion, so it's rare time. i think we support women everywhere in such a beautiful way. you know we do make things for men. blur is one of the largest selling perfume for men and i hope it stays that way. we are really by women, for

women, support women and we are here to empower and support women on the journey of becoming. francine: i forgot the perfumes. there are things that people don't understand about chanel, we talked the foundation. for so long it was all kept in-house, but you also have other brands. how do you see all of these companies working together? >> we are the world leader in many categories. there's the world of fashion. we are in frequencies, beauty, skin care. in one of the teams my leadership team, we started working on our beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years or what we call the 100 year plan, we started putting some building blocks and it was sustainability and empowerment in girls. so we are one of the largest

philanthropic organizations dedicated to women empowerment and girls. francine: it's amazing because not many people know that. >> we have increased it to 125 million. so we are truly one of the largest organizations in the world. we work with 200 37 partners in 50 plus countries on beautiful programs that support women to be free to shape their destiny. francine: lena nair on how chanel is trying to change lecturing and how her background in hr is helping to shape her mindset as a chief executive. ♪

francine: lena nair is used to breaking conventions and changing norms in the workplace including her transition from unilever and human resources to becoming the chief executive of one of the most prestigious names in luxury. she tells me how chanel is positioning for the future of fashion and what it means for her legacy at the iconic firm. how difficult is it for a big luxury company to be sustainable? you have a ambitious goals. >> i would like us to set the bar for luxury. i would like other luxury players to be inspired by what chanel does. to be one of the few luxury players that have set a goal of net zero 2040 so we want to really reduce our carbon

emissions. for example, in carbon emissions we are reducing our logistics, transport and carbon footprint to do a digital. chanel.com saw an increase in traffic of 30%. 16% in carbon footprint. francine: how much comes from heart of trying to do good and how much does it come from consumers? in five or 10 years there will be more focus on this. >> i think clients believe luxury is sustainable because we know we make a few things and we make them beautifully, and we make them with hand. and that is a genuine desire by them to see us continue to go up. i mentioned more gen z buying. they want to buy us and by better, which is the right mindset to engage in luxury. so it is going to increase. francine: and sustainability do you need to be a risk taker?

the idea that is a chief executive you need to be careful, but is there anything coming where you will challenge your risk-taking? >> i think for all of us it's the world today is moving fast, that you are constantly adjusting being a child taking. for me we are a courageous brand because we walk in the footsteps of a courageous woman. she lived the life she wanted, courageously, passionately made the choices she wanted courageously and passionately. one of her values his audacity. for me, audacity is so important. you call it risk-taking, i call it audacity. francine: i actually prefer audacity. it has a certain cachet that i'm sure gabrielle chanel would've loved. have you learned about yourself of chief executive. you are in charge of hr in unilever. hundreds of thousands of employees.

is it different being in charge of a company than being in charge of hr? >> when i was moving to chanel and a mentor told me, you are doing a quadruple job. so, it's changed on so many dimensions, it's public to private. it's fnc to luxury. it is from anglo dutch to french heritage. i have french classes. it has been changed on all dimensions, is not just one dimension, it's been all dimensions and lecture he is very different. you know their rarity is not available everywhere, it's the balance between the quest for a new, it's all of that, it's different. to me, the principles of business and the principles of leadership are transferable across sectors. how do you run a business across

multiple countries and multiple geographies, multiple cultures, how to galvanize and inspire teams across multiple cultures, multiple kinds, there are principles that hold you because people are people at the end of the day. they have motivations, dreams, aspirations. they want to engage in a particular way. being at chanel has taught me to be more patient, more long-term. it's a different world, so it has taught me to be more patient and taught me to appreciate a lot more in. and i want to change the world but look good while doing it. francine: i love that, you think about your legacy? >> yes i do, i hope people sam a purpose led visionary, which means you spend a lot of times thinking about what are you doing, what are you giving back, we could be the difference you

make. for me, the biggest thing is, 100 years from now people look back and say that we at chanel did stuff today that inspires them, that helped them question norms about what they are doing, audacious things that have redefined the norms and supported women everywhere to feel like they can be the best version of themselves. i think that would be something that i would feel good about. if i meet a few -- if i made a few women in the world dream a little bit more about what they could achieve in their lives, i would feel very fulfilled in my life. francine: do you think you will ipo chanel? >> know, in ipo is not on the table. we love the privilege of being an independent company, being able to make long-term decisions 20, 30 years on. francine: best piece of advice and worst piece of advice you've ever been given? >> best piece of advice i will

do too. one is, fall in love with the job you have. don't wait for the perfect job. fall in love with the job you have and make it the most perfect job in the world. the other is, what my husband tells me a lot, enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination. we are always in a hurry to get somewhere, you get promoted, no, just enjoy. breathe a bit and enjoy the journey is much destination. the worst piece of advice, i think most often when you get a worse piece of advice you often ignore it and forget about it, but, i have received advice like , when i was in meeting rooms, the only woman in the room so many times in my career, i have received advice like, stayed quiet for as long as you can and try to blend in and you are already standing out because i

think it's terrible advice. i think it's really important and feeling safe to be who you are and it takes courage to be who you are. a change by being who you are. francine: thank you so much for joining us today. ♪

george pyne is the former cio of nascar and now the founder of the capital. hi