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[MUSIC] Leena, welcome to the GSB.
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>> Delighted to be here, in a room full of bright, enthusiastic people, what can be better?
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>> [LAUGH] >> And I must say, I'm really happy to be here with my family, my husband, and both my boys are here.
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I'm pretty sure they never watched any of the links I sent them.
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>> [LAUGH] >> So this is true captive audience, I want to make it count.
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And I'm very happy to have members of team Chanel here with me.
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So, great to have the full team Chanel and family support here.
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>> Well, I know that GSB is happy to have all of you, and Leena you here today as well.
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I think it's safe to say everyone here knows Chanel, and today we are excited to get to know you. >> Yes.
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>> And when I think about your journey, the first thing that comes to mind is, well, the word first.
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You are part of the first batch of girls to graduate from your hometown high school.
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You were the first woman in your family to pursue a higher education in engineering, the first woman to work the night shift on a factory floor at Hindustan Unilever.
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And it keeps going, the first and youngest female leader of global HR at Unilever.
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And the first woman of color to lead a luxury major brand, and specifically the first Indian global CEO of Chanel, and arguably the most exciting your first view from the top. >> [APPLAUSE] >> Yes.
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[LAUGH] >> [APPLAUSE] >> Leena, it's so inspirational to see all these firsts, especially knowing the challenges that can come with it.
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You've talked about how you've been underestimated in the past, sometimes felt like an outsider.
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I know many of us here at the GSB have felt that.
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How have you dealt with that across your career?
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>> When I look back, I can see the number of people who said no, it can't be done, no it can't be done and I remember growing up and I grew up in a small town in India on the west of India.
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And I remember everything was a negotiation studying going for engineering was a negotiation because not enough women from the town had ever gone for engineering.
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And I remember my mom saying, my God, you're so ambitious, who's going to marry you?
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Because that was the number one concern.
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>> [LAUGH] >> How is this girl ever going to find a husband, and she's so ambitious?
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So, I think it takes a lot of resilience for sure.
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I often joke about it that I I have a thick skin.
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I met some founders this morning who were saying, it's so hard, you're too pretty, it's tough.
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You're tough, you're tough, then you're too tough.
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As a woman managing this line of liking, respecting, getting admiration, but not too much, being liked, but not too much, being respected, but not too much, it's such a difficult one.
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So, definitely I think it taught me resilience, gave me a heck of a lot of determination and drive.
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It taught me to take every opportunity with both hands to grab it, never take it for granted.
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And when I was going for MBA, I was going to an institute which was in the other end of India, so in the east.
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It used to take 48 hours by train to reach from my town, Kolhapur, to reach Jamshedpur.
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And as far as my family was concerned, that was another planet.
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So, going that way, it used to take a lot to be able to go there and do that.
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So when I reached XLRI Jamshedpur, I was so determined.
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I've got this opportunity to study, I'm going to give it everything I've got.
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So you never take an opportunity for granted.
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And a lot of times, I had to continuously remember that it's a privilege to be first, but I don't want to be the last.
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I don't want to be the last person doing this job, or the last person running this factory, or the last person running this brand, the last woman doing it.
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So lift as you climb has become a huge mantra for me.
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How do I ensure I make it easier for those who come after me?
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Because this is not just about me, it's bigger than that.
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How do I make it easier always?
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>> And it's amazing to hear about that resilience, you're talking about from such an early childhood because you were a little different from the norms from where you grew up.
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Like you said, Leena, you're from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, which, if you'll let me a quick shout out to my parents, who are also here today and originally from Maharashtra, and so- >> My God.
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[LAUGH] >> Okay, [LAUGH] what are the odds? Okay, [FOREIGN].
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[LAUGH] >> [CROSSTALK] >> Being your daughter is very bright.
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>> [LAUGH] >> But like you mentioned, you almost didn't get to go to high school? >> Yes.
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>> You went to an engineering degree with 3,000 men and 18 women.
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And like you said, yes, your mom was worried about you finding a husband, but you also were told you're so talented, you should have been a boy. >> Yeah.
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>> So take us back a little bit there, how did you even learn to build that resilience in the first place?
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>> Those are tricks I still use today, I'm absolute believer in affirmation.
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I'm constantly affirming, finding sponsors, finding mentors, finding people, because I didn't have role models in my immediate family, but reaching out to people.
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I remember there was a newspaper article about the state it was an article about him.
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I just reached out to him and said, hey, how did you do this, what are your techniques for studying?
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And he was kind and generous enough to spend time with me, and it became something that he invested in as well.
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How do you do, how are you using the techniques, is it working for you?
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So somewhere, I think deep down I felt that if you are committed and you've deep intent, you will figure out a way because somebody has figured out a way.
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And if you are humble enough to reach out to them, you will figure out a way.
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So, that's something that stayed with me, a huge love for learning, I love learning new things.
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Right now, of course, learning French is difficult [FOREIGN].
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>> [LAUGH] >> Continuously learning, curiosity, being humble, and always saying I don't know, I want to find out how to do it, that helped.
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But I was so hungry when I met people who are doing something interesting, I would say, hey, can you spend some time with me, can you have coffee with me, can you do this with me?
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I was always reaching out to people, anybody who inspired me all the time.
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And yes, it got easier, I mean, Kumar has been a huge rock and anchor for me.
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And one of the stories I must tell you, I was traveling this 48 hour journey and my father was a big sponsor for my education.
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He said, I will educate you, but I can't promise that you will have a career because I don't know if my attitudes are going to change, mindset is going to change.
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I can't change the world around you, but I'll educate you.
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And he said, you're going to go so far away.
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I will send you on the promise that you will marry the man I choose for you to marry before you turn 23.
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Okay, and I thought, okay, whatever, whatever, let me just sign up for this.
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Let me just get going on that train.
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I thought two years is a long time to come back and negotiate with him.
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>> [LAUGH] >> Fine, but he didn't forget and I was working in Unilever as a management trainee and I turned 23.
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On my birthday, he called up and he said, I have someone I want you to meet.
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I said, you must be kidding me, I'm not meeting anybody, I'm now this newly flourishing MBA, I know better, I'm not doing this.
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And he insisted, he said, a promise is a promise, you said you'd go to if I chose the man you'd marry.
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And I met my husband, I met him, and we had coffee and I said, yes in 30 minutes, believe it or not.
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[LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> And we've been married for 30 years. >> Amazing.
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>> So it's been, It's been great to have the support system of your family, that's so important to keep going, to have the courage.
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And I do think that learning to embrace failure was important for me early on.
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Now, truly not dreading failure, I know it's easy to say, but genuinely, when you fail, take a moment to say, my God, this has been such a huge learning experience.
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When I feel I'm disappointed, I cry easily, I go to the loo, I cry, I'm done, it's all done, it's over.
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It's a fresh day, get out there, put on my good face, get out but failures have taught me so much more.
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And the beauty is once you embrace failure, you can take risks.
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Because once you've learned to embrace failure, you know you can do it.
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You can dust yourself up, get up again, you get more audacious and more risk taken.
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>> Well, one of those risks that you took was after getting your engineering degree, you wanted to go against the grain a little bit again and shift into human resources.
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Can you tell us a little bit about that decision and what made you make that shift?
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>> I did engineering I booked as an engineer, I didn't enjoy it as much.
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I'm not allowed to say I'm a lousy engineer, because the founders I met this morning, who are in the audience and thank you StartX founders, told me, no, you can't say that.
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Because that doesn't make women aspire for as much technical careers.
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>> [LAUGH] >> We're technical, we are fashion, we rock the world, we're everything [LAUGH].
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So I did enjoy coding as much and I wanted to do my management studies.
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I did management studies and somehow I felt that I was more Drawn towards things that engaged people, that felt skills to motivate, inspire, galvanize people.
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It just felt it came more naturally to me, but to be honest, I wasn't 100% sure.
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Joined Unilever as a management trainee, worked ground up, did sales, marketing factory, worked in supply chain, worked in production, worked across the spectrum of jobs.
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And I felt that no matter what job I did, my greatest gift was being able to know the people.
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I remember I was in this factory very early on in a place called Bel jobs back of beyond 40 acres of factory.
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And every morning I used to go on my rounds to see what had happened in production the night before.
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And of course the logbooks were there, but I found that by just listening to the people who'd run the machines, who'd created the glycerine plant or the fine chemicals unit.
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If I talk to them about what had happened and really deeply listened without any judgment, without putting my own stuff in there, without any arrogance I would learn so much more than what was written in the log book.
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And I started realizing there was this real drawing this, I enjoyed it, I learned from it, and that's where I started leaning more and more towards doing human resource jobs, and rest is history.
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I had the chance to lead human resources for Unilever, which was an incredible experience, we have 150,000 people in Unilever working in 190 countries.
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So, yes, that was a lot of people to learn how to Inspire or galvanize work with.
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>> And that humility in your leadership made you such an inspirational global chief human resources officer after 30 years of being at Unilever.
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And you've done it, like you said, on such an unimaginable scale.
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What advice do you have for us in building company culture that effectively hires and retains top talent at all levels of the organization on that kind of massive, diverse scale?
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It's the one thing to transform a culture, the most important things are modelling by senior leaders.
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Leaders, you cannot drive a behavior that you don't see exemplified by people at the top, so that's a big one to invest in.
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If you want to transform culture, leaders have to walk the talk, they have to do what they say, say what they do every single day, consistently, no exceptions.
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You've got to incent devise and compensate for the right behaviors.
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So, driving culture starts in many ways from knowing what drives people in the company and having a shared purpose and meaning in what you do.
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So, being at Unilever one of my purpose always is how do i ignite the spark in others?
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How do I make other believe they can do anything in life?
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How can I make others jump five steps more than they ever thought?
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How can I ignite that sense of self belief?
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That gets me going, so driving culture also needs people to know why they are in a company, what difference they make what's meaningful for them.
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But role modeling, big one, you have to role model the behaviors you seek.
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>> And you ignited that spark in so many people at Unilever, especially the women.
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Like the dean mentioned, under your leadership, Unilever achieved gender parity across every management role globally.
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What did it take to achieve that?
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>> [LAUGH] A lot of hard work.
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>> [LAUGH] Because of my background, always being in the minority, always being in the underrepresented set, I knew what the journey was.
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Now, to truly gender balance an organization, you need to support the women, you need to work with the men, and you need to change the culture, and you need to do all three at the same time.
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So what I mean by supporting the women is genuinely supporting women to have ability to express the ambition and feel confidence.
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I know I feel horrible saying this, but it's difficult I told you my story when I was growing up.
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I was always told girls are not good enough girls can't do this, girls can't have careers, so suddenly to imagine that I would turn age 22 and have tremendous ambition and tremendous courage.
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It's not easy, so there's more work to be done to support men and women particularly to have ambition in my job I used to read hundreds of appraisals.
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And almost without exception, and men you have to forgive me, the men in the audience, because I'm generalizing.
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Almost without exception the men will write, I'm so ready to be CEO, why don't they already give it to me, I'm so ready, I'm confident, I got all the skills.
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And the women will write, I think I'll take a long more time to get ready I want to excel in my current job, that's what I want to do.
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And it's a little bit about getting used to being able to express your ambition.
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So to truly gender balance, you have to support women to feel good about expressing their ambition.
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You know you walk into in Unilever too, no exception.
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It's different in Chanel, because Gabriel Chanel was a female founder.
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You've corridors and corridors of portraits of men who've led Unilever, so you're continuously only seeing male role models.
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Every day you walk into work, you walk through these corridors, you walk through these boardrooms, not a single woman anywhere, not in any portrait staring at you.
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So you've got to support the women to feel confident and to feel ambitious, you've got to support the men, because men are in influential power places.
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Men are gender blind, they think it's the same women, men have the same challenges, what's the big deal?
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So you've got to take men on the journey, and you've got to change the culture.
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But it happens, appointment by appointment, every time you appoint a person, you have to say, show me the shot list.
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It's got an equal number of talented men and talented women.
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And then you make the appointment based on merit.
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But the shot list has to be balanced, and you've got to do this for every job, every appointment, every promotion.
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So yes, it takes hard work, it takes relentlessness.
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But it's fantastic when it happens.
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>> And it's fantastic to us see that you've done that on such a big scale I think it's inspirational for everybody else who's going to be leading organizations now Lena after 30 years Unilever is kind of like your family.
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You are comfortable ,you are successful you kind stay that in rest of your career but hen you get a call from Chanel bring us into that moment. >> My God.
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>> What was going on in your mind and how did you know [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> How did you know that you're >> All right I totally love with Unilever 30 years, family, friends, the CEO of Unilever.
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And the board has spoken to me that I'm going to be one of the three candidates they're going to invest in to be next year of Unilever.
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Life is good it's party time it's all going according to the script.
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>> [LAUGH] >> And then Chanel called I was so gobsmacked I was so shocked and it was a direct call and I was stunned why me?
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Why me this isn't happening I came out and I told my husband, Chanel has called, but I'm not going to even consider it are they crazy?
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I love Unilever I'm too loyal I'm not leaving and he said, are you mad go back and take the call.
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>> [LAUGH] >> I'm not doing it and genuinely it took me 9 months to say yes it was almost as much time to have a baby.
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>> [LAUGH] >> Because I just couldn't say goodbye to Unilever, but I felt such a sense of loyalty at one point I was sobbing so much at all my favors I had like tissue boxes next to me.
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And again my husband was like honey it's not a divorce you're just joining another company like thousands of people do it every day get a grip.
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>> [LAUGH] >> But it was so compelling how can I not join Chanel?
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I mean, it's the most iconic brand it is the most followed brand on all, so all Western media platforms put together.
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Imagine the influence and impact by legendary founder Gabriel Chanel 100 years ago created trousers, cross body bags so that women could ride horses, ride bikes.
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I mean, it was just so much the variety of the job one morning, it's fashion, and we have 10 collections a year it's relentless, and it goes like this the next day.
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I mean, we are the world's largest fragrance maker we are the second largest makeup maker in the world.
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We make watches, we make jewelry every day is a new thing.
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It was like running so many different companies within one.
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And the values of our house, integrity, independence, audacity, so compelling.
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And luxury sector, luxury sector is so dynamic it's $370 billion today and personal goods luxury market has tripled in the last 20 years.
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So, it's an exciting sector Gen Z engages with the sector 30% of luxury consumers by 2030 are Gen Z.
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So, exciting sector, beautiful brand it was hard to say no.
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>> [LAUGH] >> So, that was the moment but I'm so glad, I've completely fallen in love with Chanel.
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And like everybody else in Chanel, we spend the first three minutes of every meeting admiring each other's clothes.
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Which collection, spring summer 2024 really?
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And the shoes no, they're from the fall winter 2023.
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Okay, that's great we have such a fun moment, I've become totally into Chanel it's a dream job, it's It's everything I hoped for and more.
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It's everything I dreamt of and more I love you, Unilever but that's the past now.
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>> [LAUGH] >> It's, I love you, Unilever, but I'm all Chanel now heart, mind, body, soul, all Chanel.
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>> [LAUGH] >> [APPLAUSE] >> Don't tell anybody Unilever.
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>> [LAUGH] >> I love them too, yeah.
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>> Now, I'm curious, because you may not have been the obvious choice for this role.
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>> Gosh, you're never the obvious choice anyway.
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>> [LAUGH] >> I'm always too young, a woman, not done this, not done that [LAUGH] >> But here, you were making a quadruple leap. >> Yes.
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>> From this massive consumer goods company to a bespoke luxury brand from public to private company, from Dutch to French culture, and from looking after people to looking after, well, everything. >> Yeah.
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>> And a lot of us came here to business school to make those big career shifts.
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So how did you successfully navigate that transition?
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>> You're right a quadruple transition means you're either very brave or very foolish.
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>> [LAUGH] >> It's when I look back, the big the toughest transition actually was from FMCG to luxury because for 30 years it was mass markets.
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You make a billion sachets a day.
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You're available everywhere, you over communicate, you're on every billboard, you have 400 brands.
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It's mass, mass, mass and luxury is completely contrast.
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You make very little, you make like five big bags.
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It's like a work of art you don't know an artist who makes 500 paintings of the same type.
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This is like a work of art you make this five bags, and you let people see them, discover them, yearn for them, desire them, not find it in New York, go looking for them in Paris, not find them in Paris, but dream about them.
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It's a completely different mindset it's precious, it's rare, it's unique.
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Everything is made by hand it takes 180 steps to make a bag.
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It's five years and working on dummy bags before you can work on a classic, iconic Chanel bag so it's completely different.
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So I had to unlearn everything and relearn everything, and it's scary and it's very humbling, because the words I used for the first six months was always help me understand why we do it this way.
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It was my most common go to phrase, because I really didn't understand, why do you do it this way?
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Because I'd seen another reality, and the first week so I had the first week, and I have the schedule.
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It says day one, surprise, day two surprise and the whole week is surprise.
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I'm coming from a completely structured company where data analytics would have told me what I need to do in first.
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>> [LAUGH] >> No and I'm sitting here the first day I went to Gabriel Chanel's apartment where she designed and over a period of the whole day, people from our Patreon and headed British division told me stories.
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Told me stories didn't get me to read presentations.
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Told me stories about Gabriel Shanann, how she was a radical innovator, how she broke norms, and how she did all this when women didn't have the votes.
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So that was day one, day two, I went to our heritage patreon, which Is 500,000 square feet of space that had 150,000 artifacts, objects, signature pieces from every collection we've designed, statement pieces.
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And I was told the story of all these objects, artifacts.
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Can you imagine I'm look, this is a different world.
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Okay, And then I traveled, traveled, traveled I met, unique people I'd never met before Platters, Milners.
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People who make hats, people who do embroidery, because everything is made by hand.
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It takes hours and hours to make a dress 200 hours, 300 hours, six people working together.
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Beautiful the skirt you see on the ramp, it's two people pushing it back and forth in a mold for seven or eight hours before the skirt gets ready.
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It's just incredible and that helped me change my pace, build patience, think differently.
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To be honest, the fundamentals of business are transferable.
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Leadership skills are transferable.
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I'd learned so much at Unilever how business makes money, how you drive growth, how you think about profitability, how you keep your commercial financial indicators in mind, how you work across Sculptures, all of that is transferable, scale, complexity, international mindset, all of that is transferable.
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So I relied on my strengths, but I had to keep huge amount of humility to really understand before I jumped in to say, here's what I want to do differently.
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So I had to really understand, seek to understand, before you seek to change with a big philosophy those few months.
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And yes, it was worth the pivoting, worth the transition. >> Absolutely.
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[LAUGH] And it's so awesome to hear just all the work you went through to understand the factories, the designers, the craftsmanship, that went into Chanel.
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And Lena, I'm curious, because you always talk about how Lena from Kolhapur could never have imagined the world of Chanel.
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You spent most of your career at a company that commoditized retail, like you said, mass, mass, mass, and champion inclusion.
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How have those experience Influenced your leadership now at a company that traditionally is admired for its exclusivity?
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>> My principles of leadership that ground me have still very much been rooted in my perspective as I was growing up perspective of listening to so many mentors along the way.
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We've spoken about her, Indra is a mentor, Nigel Higgins is a mentor, so many mentors.
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So there are three or four things I believe in, one is, I am very determined to be a holistic leader who thinks for the long term.
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And that was true in Unilever, that's true in Chanel, which is I look at all levers of business.
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Brand, are we each building our brand?
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Clients, are our clients truly happy?
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People, are people truly happy to work at Chanel?
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Sustainability, are we doing what's right for the planet?
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Planet, nature, business has to thrive together, that's one of my fundamental beliefs.
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And then are we having financial results that matter?
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So, thinking holistically across all aspects.
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I mean, the beauty about Chanel is we pay only 20% of our annual bonus and financial results.
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80% is on how you build the brand, how you make the world a better place, how you look after people in the business.
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So it was fantastic, it was a true marriage of mines, me and Chanel.
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So holistic, that's not change.
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The second hallmark of my leadership which I hope that's what people say is that I truly believe in benevolence, in kindness, in compassion, and empathy.
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I mean, you've got to root up things in business.
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But do we need compassionately is very important to me, doing it properly, doing it keeping the person in mind.
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I mean, it's I'm very particular, if I'm in a meeting, I want to listen to every voice, because I truly believe in collective intelligence.
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I believe everyone's voice matters, not just the ones who speak loudly.
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You've got to listen to every voice, diverse perspectives matter to me.
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I love knowing people, I know everybody's names and faces.
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37,000 I'm not done yet, I'm probably at 20,000.
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>> [LAUGH] >> But my team will will tell you I know everyone's names and faces.
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If you've told me a story of your life, I will know it, I will never, ever forget it.
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I will respect what you bring, your values, your beliefs.
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So that's very important for me, and we don't hear this enough in business.
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I mean, people don't care for compassionate, empathetic leaders, we don't see enough role models like that.
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So for me, it really matters that I set a brand of leadership that's about compassion empathy.
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Do the tough things, do it decisively, but do it with compassion.
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Do it keeping the human being at the end of it, who's impacted by your decisions, in mind.
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So those principles haven't changed, and the third thing is always being future fit, listening, looking outside.
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I'm very curious, I'm always taking my team to Seattle, Silicon Valley, talking to different companies.
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And like I said, I had breakfast this morning talking to some amazing female founders from start X.
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I'm always curious, I want to learn, I want to learn, I want to be future fit, I want to be curious.
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So those things haven't changed and they will continue.
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>> Which is amazing to hear and thinking about looking into the future, there's a new generaation of consumers with slightly different preferences.
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There's a lot more value in individualism, personal expression, customers like you said are looking to sustainability.
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They want ethically sourced products.
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How is Chanel adapting its strategy and maybe even its product line to engage these new consumers?
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>> As I said, Gen Z is 30% of luxury consumers, not right now, but going to be by 2030 but right now itself it's one of the fastest growing trajectories.
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And they buy luxury because they know it lasts.
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I want you to buy a Chanel product and I want you to keep it and cherish it, keep that bag forever, for generations, handed over to your daughter, daughter-in-law etc.
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It's the memories that count, so they buy with a buy less mindset.
29:01
They buy with the buy to invest mindset.
29:04
So for me, sustainability is a non-negotiable industry.
29:08
You make less, you allow it to restore for longer, you keep the life cycle for long, and that's generally principled sustainability.
29:16
But we have set what we call a Chanel sustainability ambition in place.
29:20
We are one of the few luxury brands, I think they are one two luxury brands that has set a net 0, 2040, commitment.
29:27
So we are really serious about reducing our carbon emissions.
29:30
We invest in circularity, so we are in restoration of our products for long, we create a lot of Upcycled products.
29:38
All our staff uniforms are made from Upcycle, called Chanel products.
29:42
We believe in dignity and opportunity for everybody working in our value chain, we and we are doing a lot to promote the autonomy of women and girls everywhere.
29:52
So we are taking sustainability very seriously.
29:56
We are accelerating the journey, we want to be a role model in the luxury sector.
30:00
We want everyone to look at Chanel and say, whoa, they're the people who've got sustainability right, and are doing it in an exemplary way, >> And part of what you just talked about is lifting women from their positions and giving them more opportunity.
30:13
Can you tell us more about the work the foundation is doing?
30:15
>> Yeah, Chanel foundation is one of the world's largest philanthropic organization working to support women and girls to shape their own destiny.
30:25
I mean, hardly anyone knows about it.
30:26
Everyone knows the brand, nobody knows about the philanthropic organization that sits within Chanel.
30:32
We do almost 200 or 300 projects, about 237 to be exact, across 57 countries.
30:38
Where we do work to support women at grassroots level for safety, for social and economic autonomy, and for women fighting climate change and climate resilience.
30:50
For example, in Afghanistan, we support Radio Begum, which is a channel where women, girls don't go to schools.
30:58
So girls between 11 to 17, get to listen to school lessons.
31:03
So we do that I believe business has resources, has power, has influenced, we have got to make a difference to the world.
31:11
In India, for example, we have the green brigade, which is thousands of women who are saving and restoring mangroves.
31:17
Because that provides the first shield against natural soil erosion, so women at the front end of climate resilience.
31:24
So through our work on philanthropy, we support women who are fighting climate change across the world.
31:32
So I truly believe when women thrives, the world thrives, so we've got to do more.
31:38
And all the men in the audience, you're important too, please Chanel cares about you as well [LAUGH].
31:45
>> [LAUGH] >> But it's when women thrive the world thrives, how do we make it a more balanced world?
31:50
It's just that we need so many more women in leadership.
31:52
Climate leadership hardly any women, business leadership that number has stayed at 7, 8, 9, 10% of fortune CEOs or women at that number is State like that for two decades, I've been my fifties now, girls come on, run, we need more, So we need more, we need to support.
32:10
>> And it's so heartwarming for me to hear all these insights from Chanel, I'm sure most of us didn't even know about the work the foundations doing.
32:17
And I think so much of Chanel's allure is not knowing the company behind closed doors. >> Yes.
32:23
>> But it sounds like that's starting to shift a little bit.
32:25
Lena, how are you trying to open that door into Chanel, if at all?
32:30
>> We are an iconic brand, but we are not a loud company.
32:34
We don't over communicate, I mean, this is one of the rare speaking sessions I'm doing.
32:39
As my team will tell you we can get about 2000 speaking sessions, I probably say yes to four or five.
32:45
So, we're not allowed company, we don't over communicate.
32:49
But as we've grown larger, we're a $20 billion company, it's important we are more transparent about who we are and what we stand for.
32:58
And also we believe that when we do things, we do them well, we're very high in integrity.
33:03
We don't communicate a thing unless we're 100% sure we're doing it well, we're doing it properly.
33:08
We're not over communicating or saying something that's not true, we are super, super careful about that.
33:15
But we feel that some of the good things we do could inspire others, and some of the good things others do could inspire us.
33:21
So we are more open in sharing what we do well, and what the challenges we are facing.
33:27
But we'll never be all over the place, we'll still have our mystique and our integrity.
33:32
I still want you to keep dreaming when you think of Chanel.
33:37
>> Well, first of all, we're honored that we are one of your four or five that you said yes too.
33:41
>> Absolutely sure [LAUGH] Look at you, Lena, [LAUGH] But it's amazing that you're letting us in.
33:53
So Lena, if you achieved your vision, where is Chanel in 10 years.
33:59
I'd love Chanel to continue to be a beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years.
34:05
Generally today, 100 years on from when Gabrielle Chanel did all the things for freedom of movement for women.
34:12
I mean, it seems simple, but to liberate women from car sets, and it seems simple.
34:17
And to use jersey material for women, which is never used, things like that to take the black dress, which is only used for funerals and make it easy for anyone to wear it anywhere.
34:28
>> [LAUGH] >> I'm not civilizing it today for anything, good, bad or ugly.
34:32
And to do that 100 years ago, when women didn't have the vote, nobody had equality of any sense.
34:38
And today, we stand and we thank her for doing that.
34:40
And I want 100 years from now for men and women to say, wow, those people in Chanel in 2024 really knew what they were doing, because they've changed our lives today.
34:51
So I want us to be a beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years.
34:54
And I know we'll do that if we have a positive impact in the world, and we are constantly looking at what next in staying ahead of it.
35:02
And if we continue to invest in human beings, human creation, human relations, there's human skills that we have, which, increasingly, in a world of AI people forget, but this human deeply savoir faire, craftsmanship, uniquely human things.
35:19
If we keep doing that, we will be a beacon of inspiration 100 years from now, that's my vision for Chanel.
35:24
>> And we can't wait to see that vision come true.
35:27
Lina, I have one more question for you before we open up for audience Q&A.
35:31
It's one they're asking all of our speakers this year. >> Yes.
35:34
>> So, our theme is leaving your mark, I know, thank you. [LAUGH] So, Lena. >> Big words.
35:43
>> [LAUGH] >> So, Lena, how would you like to be remembered? >> Aha.
35:49
There are a couple of things here.
35:53
One thing I truly believe in is people never remember what you said, what you did, even if you're not going to remember anything I said, maybe three days later, five days later, it's all going to go off, but people remember how you made them feel.
36:11
That's something that's always in my mind I always think about that.
36:14
What do I want people to feel, what I want people to take away in terms of how they felt?
36:19
So that's one thought in my mind.
36:21
And the other is my 11-year-old self, cycling through the dusty lanes I was largely barefoot a lot of times, believe me.
36:30
And I would like my 11-year-old self to be proud of the leader I've become.
36:41
I'd like that 11 year old to know that I have truly tried to make a difference in everything I've done, and I've tried very hard to break every norm that exists.
36:54
And I've used every little influence power I have to uplift others, to elevate others, to inspire others, and make it easier for them.
37:07
And I hope she is proud of who I've become.
37:11
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Thanks so much for sharing all these amazing insights with us.
37:21
So you you're the first of many positions, right?
37:23
And you spoke about embracing failure.
37:27
So how do you balance the need to embrace failure with the pressure of succeeding as the first in some of these positions?
37:34
>> Yeah, it's such a great question, I feel it all the time, when I feel like I've let down an entire race.
37:40
[LAUGH] I've let down a ll women everywhere, everywhere I've let down all Indians.
37:45
It is a pressure I carry, and I feel for sure, for sure I carry and feel that pressure, your success gets amplified and your failures get amplified.
37:55
And how the one thing I put little, little practices always to help me get through those moments.
38:03
One of the things I do a lot is a journal, I definitely write three things that make me grateful every single night, I've tried to inspire my boys to do it.
38:12
Haven't succeeded, >> [LAUGH] And during the teenage years, they said, we're not grateful for anything in our lives.
38:17
>> [LAUGH] >> So, they go through those phases, so it was three things that helped.
38:23
When I was taking Chanel, you do have some self doubt, God, the whole world is saying she's not the obvious choice.
38:32
Why are they bringing her, she doesn't understand luxury, she doesn't understand fashion.
38:37
She's from India, like God, what are they thinking?
38:41
She's not even French, she can barely speak French, so, you hear these voices.
38:46
So, another thing I do is I journal a lot, I wrote down an essay saying why I am the right person at the right time in the right context to lead Chanel.
38:58
And here are the ten reasons why.
39:00
So, I do things like that to help me cope with the pressure, but community talking to my family, building a sisterhood, cheering others, getting others to cheer for me, listening to mentors who give you perspective.
39:14
I have a mentor, have breakfast every six months with Nigel Higgins, and he's like, you haven't failed something you tried failed to just make you of failure.
39:24
Come on, look at it differently, so it's nice to do that, have different, go for a long walk.
39:29
Have a good cry,iIt always works.
39:31
>> [LAUGH] >> Get it over with, then you can get onto the next thing, yeah.
39:35
Talking to my husband, going for long walks, all of that.
39:38
But you feel the pressure, I'm not saying you don't, you do feel the pressure.
39:41
I would not honest if I told you, it's all very easy.
39:45
You walk in, now you feel the pressure, you feel the pressure of having to succeed, not for you, but for many others.
39:55
>> Hi, thank you so much for being here today.
39:57
>> [CROSSTALK] Delighted to be here.
39:59
>> Thanks for being here.
40:01
I'm Dora, I'm an MBA 1, and I'm curious.
40:04
So currently, the luxury market as a whole has been experiencing a softening. >> Yes.
40:08
>> So Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, have all had some slight dips in their sales, while Chanel has been very successful.
40:16
I'm curious, amid the current conditions of the luxury market, what Chanel is doing to differentiate itself and maintain its success, thank you.
40:23
>> In luxury, you never look at competition.
40:27
You're making a work of art, it's not comparable.
40:29
You want people to dream and yearn for it.
40:32
But to your question, yes, market forces are challenging for many sectors, including luxury.
40:37
But one of the beauty of being independent and private is that I can keep such a long-term mindset.
40:44
I'm off the treadmill of every quarter having to show results.
40:47
And I was in Unilever, I've seen that, squeeze, you've got to find the answers every quarter, some investor is going to ask you a question.
40:54
It's beautiful being in a long-term company where you're thinking 100 years.
40:59
There are not that many CEOs that can say we're thinking 100 years out.
41:02
They have got to think next quarter and the quarter after.
41:05
So to me, yes, there'll be fluctuations, there'll be some ebbs and flows.
41:10
But if you stay focused on the long-term, you stay focused on the brand, building the strength of the brand, the desire to brand.
41:17
You stay focused on creating a fantastic luxury experience for your clients.
41:21
We don't do e-commerce, this is the 21st century, we don't do e-commerce.
41:24
We only fashion and watches and fine jewelry.
41:27
You have to go to our stores and spend a moment with a fashion advisor to learn the story of what you're buying and why you would like to buy.
41:35
So if you focus on brand, clients, people, and keeping the long-term perspective, the results will follow.
41:44
We've been here 100 years, we've seen more downturns than I can count.
41:48
We've seen recessions, we've seen many things, but staying focused on doing the right things for the long-term make a difference. >> Hi, good afternoon.
42:00
I'm David, I'm from China.
42:03
I grew up in a household where my mom loves Chanel and- >> My gosh, she has great taste.
42:08
>> [LAUGH] >> It's fantastic taste. >> Thank you.
42:10
There was black and white iconic boxes everywhere.
42:13
China, as you know- >> We must take a picture and you must tell her- >> Yes- >> That I appreciate her and admire her long distance. >> Absolutely.
42:20
>> I love all of my clients.
42:21
>> I'll let her know, she will be so excited.
42:24
So China has been such a growth engine- >> Yes.
42:27
>> For the past 20 years for a lot of the luxury houses, including Chanel, mostly fueled by consumers like my mom, who's very avid in luxury.
42:36
And as you know, in recent years, macro economy has slowed a little bit in that part of the world.
42:42
It has been challenging for a lot of luxury brands. >> Yes.
42:44
>> So how do you think about perhaps the future of the Chinese luxury consumers since it's such a large market?
42:51
And perhaps for the next 20 years, what are the next super-growth market for Chanel?
42:57
>> Yes, China is a very, very good market for luxury for now and for the future because China's sophistication and understanding of luxury is very good.
43:08
So I'm a believer in China.
43:09
Yes, there'll be some short-term ebbs and flows, but long-term, it's still a growth market for luxury.
43:17
I mean, when China grows at 5% and we're all disappointed.
43:21
I mean, I live in Europe most of the time, many markets will be lucky if they saw some of that growth.
43:27
So I continue to be a believer in China.
43:29
We're not slowing down on any of our investments in China.
43:32
We're opening stores across the country, we continue to invest in a great range for China.
43:38
We're continuing to invest in hiring the right people, building leadership for China.
43:43
So I'm a long-term believer, so you have to keep a long-term perspective.
43:46
Yes, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 3 years, who knows?
43:49
Nobody can really read how quickly a market comes back or doesn't.
43:53
But staying invested in the long-term, I'm a believer in China.
43:57
I do think in the next few years, India will be a market to contend with, for sure.
44:02
Luxury in India is growing up.
44:06
India believes in luxury craftsmanship, heritage, so that's going to be promising.
44:11
Mexico is coming up, Southeast Asian markets are coming up.
44:14
So yeah, there are a lot more markets which are waking up to luxury.
44:19
Yeah, we are in 141 markets, but there are a lot more I'd love to go to, yeah. >> Hi, Lena, I'm here. I'm Singii, I'm MBA 1.
44:30
Thank you so much for being here.
44:32
You are an incredible role model, and I love your motto, lift as you climb.
44:37
I was wondering if you can share a story about a mentor that had a major impact on you, and if you can also give us some advice on how to help others as we climb.
44:46
>> My God, I've had so many mentors, I was always reaching out to people.
44:50
When I was doing my job at Unilever, if I had any project or initiative to lead, I would create the obvious list of people you need to meet because you've gotta make your project successful.
45:01
But then I'd draw a list of 10 or 20 people who inspired me and I would say, hey, will you talk to me about this project?
45:07
Just because I wanted to get to know them.
45:09
Yeah, so I'm a huge believer in having this mentoring support.
45:14
I remember when Chanel called, and I was like, no, I don't want to go, I love Unilever.
45:18
No, I'm not going to take this.
45:20
I called Indra and I told her that the first question I had when Chanel called was, why me, why is Chanel looking at me?
45:27
And she was so cross, she said, never say that again. What is this, why me?
45:32
They're approaching you, you didn't go looking for them.
45:34
You didn't write a resume and say, have the confidence.
45:37
If they've come looking for you it's because they see stuff in you that's right and ready for them.
45:41
So that was an important wake-up moment, instead of underplaying what I have, being conscious of the strengths that I bring, that others could see it and I couldn't see it myself.
45:52
So many stories like that.
45:55
Paul Polman, who's CEO of Unilever and huge influence on me to always think about the planet and nature when you think about business.
46:01
You can't do business and have a dying planet.
46:04
You've got to find a way to integrate that thinking into everything you do.
46:09
So yes, and today morning, I was talking to the founders from StartX, and they were really getting me to question, are we doing enough to support female founders?
46:18
How hard it is for them to raise money.
46:21
So yeah, it'll have an influence on me.
46:24
So a fresh insight for today [LAUGH].
46:27
>> And this will be our last question.
46:29
>> No, I'm so happy to- >> [LAUGH] >> I'm sorry, Lena. >> [LAUGH] Go for it.
46:38
>> Hi, my name is Maria, I'm an MBA 1.
46:40
Thank you for sharing your story with us today.
46:43
As you mentioned, luxury brands have chosen not to often adopt e-commerce and other technology.
46:50
How do you see Chanel adopting recent changes in AI and robotics, and do you see that impacting the broader luxury landscape? Thank you.
46:58
>> See, AI is everywhere, and it's going to be transformative in our world, so luxury has to engage with it, Chanel has to engage with it, as all others.
47:07
In fact, we came as a team, our leadership team and I, we traveled to Seattle in May, we met a whole lot of people.
47:15
We've gone and visited Microsoft, Google, many of the startups in this area, spent some time with ChatGPT, etc, because we want to learn, we want to understand how it impacts us.
47:24
I do think that the number one thing in my mind is to keep the relentless focus on human creation.
47:30
I don't want that ever to go.
47:32
So ensuring that AI supports human creators and creation, rather than take away what they bring.
47:39
So skillfully and masterfully is very much core to who we are at Chanel.
47:44
We're also high on ethics and integrity, so we want to do it the right way.
47:47
And it was funny, we were in Microsoft, and we were playing around with ChatGPT on the premises.
47:51
And we're like, show us a picture of a senior leadership team from Chanel visiting Microsoft, it is all men in suits. This is Chanel.
47:59
Yes, 76% of my organization is women.
48:01
96% of my clients are women, female CEO.
48:05
It is 100% male team, not even in fashionable clothes.
48:10
Come on, this is what you've got to offer?
48:12
This is what you've got to offer, ChatGPT? Come on.
48:14
So it's so important that we keep the ethics and integrity of what we're doing with AI.
48:20
And I constantly talk to my friends in tech, all the CEOs that you know, saying, come on, guys, you've gotta make sure that you're integrating a humanistic way of thinking in AI.
48:30
But like all others, we are getting our organization AI-ready, which means doing all the hard work, like getting infrastructure systems, data, data governance classification, get your data ready for AI.
48:41
You can't have any AI if you don't have all of those fundamentals in place.
48:44
Like all others, we're doing a lot of experiments.
48:47
What I call 1000 flowers are blooming.
48:49
We're trying little things for productivity, chat bots on chanel. com.
48:55
We're trying a lot of things like all others, for productivity.
48:59
And I'm keeping focus on what truly needs to be scaled, while keeping relentless focus on human creators being motivated and doing their best things, their best work.
49:12
And freedom of creation is a very important value for us, giving our creators the freedom to do that.
49:22
>> Lena, I know you want to answer more questions, but we're going to do our last tradition here for you from the top, our rapid fire. >> My God.
49:31
>> Don't worry, it won't be scary.
49:32
>> Do you get bribed to ask difficult questions?
49:34
>> [LAUGH] >> So how does this go?
49:36
>> I'm just going to say five statements or quick questions, and you're going to tell me the first that comes to your mind. >> Okay.
49:42
>> Okay, favorite city in India?
49:45
>> Mumbai, is its rocking city. >> Same, I know. >> Your fashion icon?
49:53
>> Gabriel Chanel, of course.
49:55
I'd be disappointed if I didn't say that. She's in my heart. I channel all the time.
50:01
But yeah, Margot Robbie, who's now our face for No 5 and Aussie is in the audience.
50:06
It's Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
50:08
Michael, just for you, it's Margot Robbie in a full power.
50:11
I think she's inspiring at the moment, empowered woman, rocking the world, kick-ass.
50:18
>> Yeah, I definitely agree with the kick-ass there.
50:21
The first Chanel item you ever owned. >> A Jumbo 2. 55 bag.
50:28
I was so excited to buy it.
50:30
And I kind of kept it in my cupboard for days, refusing to use it.
50:35
But I loved it, loved it.
50:36
It was a labor of love to dream about it and to buy it.
50:40
And it still is one of my favorite possessions. >> Do you still have it? >> Yes, I have it. I have it. It's amazing.
50:48
>> That doesn't count as one of your five questions. And I'm in Chanel.
50:50
>> [LAUGH] >> The first word that comes to mind when you think of Chanel?
50:57
>> Surprise, awe and wonder.
51:00
I want Chanel to always surprise you.
51:03
I want you to walk out of anything to do Chanel, a product, an event, an interaction, feeling that sense of awe and wonder.
51:11
>> Afternoon tea in London or brunch champagne in Paris?
51:16
>> That's a tough one, but I think brunch champagne in Paris wins.
51:22
>> [LAUGH] >> It's so much butter, cream.
51:25
>> [LAUGH] >> And I've learned about 50 adjectives while my French classes are still progressing, and it's a great opportunity to practice them.
51:36
[FOREIGN] >> [LAUGH] >> And say all those things, [FOREIGN]. I know about 50.
51:45
>> [LAUGH] >> I use them in different combinations.
51:47
And they all positive, and they all mean, it rocks. >> [LAUGH] >> So, yeah.
51:53
>> Well, Leena, this has been [FOREIGN].
51:55
I don't know if that- >> [LAUGH] It's going to be more than [FOREIGN].
51:59
It's going to be [FOREIGN]- >> Yeah.
52:02
>> [FOREIGN] >> [LAUGH] >> Big words. I'm kidding.
52:07
>> [LAUGH] >> Amazing, well, Leena, thank you so much.
52:09
We are so happy that we were able to have you here today.
52:12
>> I'm so delighted again to be here.
52:14
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Thank you so much. Thank you so much. [MUSIC]