Asian Paints' Ashwin Suryakant Dani passes away

Ashwin Dani, former vice chairman and managing director of India's largest paints company Asian Paints, died on Thursday following a brief illness. He was 79.

Son of Suryakant Dani, one of the four cofounders of Asian Paints, Dani joined the group in 1968 as an executive.

Since then, he played a key role in the rise of 1942-founded Asian Paints to become India's largest paints manufacturer. The company's shares is one of the most celebrated stock market success stories to date.


"With deep regret, we inform you that Mr Ashwin Dani, non-executive director of the company, left for heavenly abode today, on account of brief illness," Asian Paints said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday afternoon.

Dani is survived by his wife Ina and sons Jalaj, Malav and Hasit.

Born in a Mumbai-based Jain family, Dani got a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the Mumbai University in 1966. He went on to pursue a master's degree in chemical engineering from University of Akron in the US.

Following a brief stint working as a chemist in the US, Dani joined Asian Paints in 1968. Rising through the ranks, he took over as the vice chairman and managing director of the company in 1998 and held the position till 2009. He continued to be vice chairman till 2018, when he became the chairman of India's largest paints company.

In June 2021, Dani assumed the role of non-executive director, which he held till his demise.

One of his achievements in Asian Paints was the introduction of the first computerised colour mixing programme in India. This technology not only gave consumers an unprecedented choice of colours but also created a technological moat for the company, firmly cementing its position as the market leader.

Under his leadership, Asian Paints ventured overseas into multiple markets in the sub-continent and West Asia. During these years, Asian Paints firmly maintained its market leadership and the markets handsomely rewarded its stock.

Asian Paints stock grew more than 10-fold during Dani's tenure as the managing director of the company.