Leena Nair

"Never say that again."

"Lift as you climb has become a huge mantra for me."

"How do I ensure I make it easier for those who come after me."

"It’s bigger than that."

"I must say I’m really happy to be here with my family."

"My husband and both my boys are here. *I’m pretty sure they never watched any of the links I sent them."

"I wanna make it count and I’m very happy to have members of team Chanel here with me."

"Great to have the full team Chanel and family support here."

"I can see the number of people who said, no, it can’t be done."

"I remember growing up and I grew up in a small town in India."

"I remember everything was a negotiation."

"I remember my mom saying, “oh my God, you’re so ambitious."

"That was like the number one concern, how is this girl ever gonna find her husband."

"I think it takes a lot of resilience for sure."

"I often joke about it that I have a thick skin."

"How do I make it easier always?‎*I’m absolute believer in affirmations."

"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."

"I will educate you, but I can’t promise that you will have a career because I don’t know if attitudes are gonna change."

"I can’t change the world around you, but I’ll educate you."

"I didn’t enjoy it as much."

"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."

"I truly believe in benevolence, kindness, compassion, and empathy."

"You have to do tough things in business, but doing them compassionately is very important to me."

"It's about doing it properly, keeping the person in mind."

"If I'm in a meeting, I want to listen to every voice because I truly believe in collective intelligence."

"Everyone's voice matters, not just the ones who speak loudly."

"I respect what each person brings-their values, beliefs, and individuality."

"We don't see enough role models like that."

"The one thing they'll tell you about me is that I really care about people it's not lip service."

"When you care for people, they care for the business in return."

"AI is everywhere and it is going to be transformative in our world, so luxury has to engage with it, Chanel has to engage with it as all others."

"I travelled to Seatle in May, and we met a whole lot of people."

"We visited Microsoft, Google, and many of the startups in the area, and spent some time with ChatGPT."

"I do think number one in my mind is to keep a relentless focus on human creation."

"I don't that ever to go."

"AI supports human creators and creations rather than taking away what they bring, so skillfully and masterfully core to who we are at Chanel."

"We are also high on ethics and integrity, so we want to do it in the right way."

"It is a 100 per cent male team, not even in fashionable clothes."

"it's so important that we keep the ethics and integrity of what we are doing with AI."

"I listen to every voice in the room."

"I truly believe in benevolence, in kindness, in compassion, in empathy."

"You’ve got to do tough things in business, but doing it compassionately is very important."

"It really matters that I set a brand of leadership that’s about compassion and empathy."