Chanel — the iconic brand that made the little black dress a staple for every woman — has a new leader: Leena Nair.

The haute-couture house announced last Wednesday that Nair, the former Unilever human-resources chief, would assume the role of CEO in January. She’s replacing Alain Wertheimer, Chanel’s co-owner. Nair is set to become Chanel’s first woman chief and one of the few women of colour in the industry’s exclusive leadership ranks.

Nair, who is of British Indian descent, is joining an industry rocked by the pandemic as stores shuttered and consumers flocked to e-commerce. And unlike its competitors — Gucci, Prada, and Versace — Chanel doesn’t sell its famous handbags online, which makes Nair’s job more complicated. Nair may also have the big challenge of helping shape Chanel’s artistic vision, which critics say is still under construction following the 2019 death of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s venerable artistic director.

Nair brings a bold vision with her. Recent interviews showed that Nair, 52, wasn’t afraid to speak about the need for global leaders to make companies more inclusive.

“I believe every voice matters,” she said in a 2019 interview with the cloud company KRISIN. “Inclusion is at the heart of everything I do.”

Nair is used to being the “first” in many roles, she said in an interview with the World Economic Forum‘s podcast with Linda Lacina. For her, it’s a “privilege and a burden.”

“You get to do things you didn’t think were possible before, but also there’s the burden of making it easier for those who come after you, and the burden of success,” she said on the podcast. “The last thing you want to do is fail, so you feel this enormous pressure and sense of responsibility to succeed at every job you’re given.”

For the executive, it’s not enough to break glass ceilings and succeed in her own role. She wants to make sure others can also climb the corporate ladder.