Ashwin Dani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ashwin Dani

• Ashwin Dani was an Indian billionaire, businessman, and the non-executive chairman of India’s largest homegrown paints company Asian Paints Ltd. Dani served as the company’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director from 1998 to 2009. He rose to prominence in 2013 when he was ranked #49 on Forbes India’s list of the 100 wealthiest Indians, with a total wealth of $1,310 million. ^[5]Forbes India He passed away after a brief illness on 28 September 2023.

• He was born into the Hindu Jain family Suryakant Dani, who co-founded Asian Paints with his three friends, Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi, and Arvind Vakil in Mumbai in February 1942. His father hailed from Kapadvanj, Gujarat. ^[6]Forbes India

• Ashwin Dani was a keen yoga practitioner and adherent follower of popular yoga teacher B. K. S. Iyengar. Ashwin and his wife, Ina Dani, were introduced to Iyengar’s yoga in 1980 when Ashwin was dealing with an obstinate slipped disc. Remarkably, after just one yoga session with Guruji Iyengar, Dani experienced 75% relief in his back, and he stopped visiting his physiotherapist. Thereafter, the couple became disciples of Iyengar. During those days, Guruji would commute from Pune to Mumbai every weekend on the Deccan Queen train, and Ashwin and Ina eagerly attended his classes. The couple had a strong desire to establish a lasting presence of yoga in their life. Hence, when they built their residential building Home Villa in the 1990s, they built an Iyengar Yoga Centre on its first floor. Eventually, Ina started teaching yoga to pregnant women at the centre. Later, Ina also served as managing trustee to Guruji’s Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT). Yoga became an integral part of the Dani family’s daily life. The family members committed to dedicate at least an hour each day to practising yoga, with Dani himself maintaining a minimum of three practice sessions per week.

• In 1967, Dani began his career as a development chemist with Inmont Corp in Detroit, USA.

• The following year, he joined Asian Paints as a senior executive and steadily progressed through various roles, including director of R&D, works director, and whole-time director.

• In 1970, he became a part of Asian Paints’ board.

• He served as the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Company from 1998 to 2009.

• Later, he continued his involvement on the board as a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chairman of both the Board and the Company.

• He had a challenging three-year period starting in 1995. Dani went through a heart bypass operation, one of his long-serving business partners left the company, and a devastating fire destroyed one of their primary manufacturing facilities. Despite these setbacks, he successfully established a 50:50 joint venture between Asian Paints and PPG Industries, the leading automotive coatings manufacturer globally. He was a founding director on the board of the first joint venture company with PPG Industries Inc. called PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd.

• Apart from that, he held positions on the board of Sun Pharmaceuticals and served as Chairman for Resins and Plastics Ltd, Gujarat Organics Ltd, and Hi-Tech Plast Ltd. He was also the founder-promoter of Loctite India Private Limited, later known as Henkel Adhesive Technologies India Private Limited. Dani steered the company’s growth through technological innovation, rural marketing, and international acquisitions.

  

• One of his significant achievements was introducing computerized colour matching in the Indian industry, a concept that gained widespread acceptance in sectors like paints, plastics, printing inks, and textiles. Under his leadership, Asian Paints became the first paint company in India and Asia to adopt this concept in 1975.

• He was also a pioneer in bringing plastic packaging for paint to India and printing on plastic.

• One of his notable products was melamine, a transparent wood coating sold under the brand name Apcolite. This product held a virtual monopoly in market share for approximately 15 years. The idea for Apcolite came about when his executive director mentioned having a lot of ice in his drink, causing the glass to become moist and damage the French polish on his table. The executive director urged Dani to find a solution, and it took him six months to develop Apcolite, which was fast-drying and water-resistant.

• Between 2018 and 2021, Dani served as the Chairman of the Board and the Company.

• In FY23, Asian Paints reported a total revenue of Rs 29,953 crore with a net profit of Rs 4,100.2 crore, solidifying its position as the largest paint company in India. Asian Paints also received recognition as one of Forbes Asia’s Fab 50 companies for three consecutive years, in 2011, 2012, and 2013, with annual sales growth of 20%.

• Dani held significant positions in various government and trade organizations. He was a member of the President’s Advisory Council at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. He held the position of Vice President at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), participated in the Board of Governors of the U.D.C.T. (currently known as the Institute of Chemical Technology) Alumni Association, and served on the Board of Management of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. He also served as an adviser on the Central Board of Trustees for the Employees Provident Fund of the Government of India.

• His son Jalaj Dani is married to Vita Dani, niece of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani. Her brothers Hital Meswani and Nikhil Meswani serve on the board of Reliance Industries.

• Ashwin Dani is an art connoisseur.