Ashwin Dani (1944-2023) was an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the non-executive chairman of Asian Paints Limited, India’s largest indigenous paint company, which was co-founded by his father in 1942. He started working with Asian Paints in 1968. Danny served as Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the company. Worked at the company from 1998 to 2009. He died on September 28, 2023, after a brief illness.
Wiki/Biography
Ashwin Suryakant Dani was born in Bombay on Tuesday, September 26, 1944 (age 79; death). His zodiac sign is Libra. He received his BSc (Honours) from the Bombay Institute of Science, University of Mumbai. He then went on to pursue his Bachelor of Science (Technology) in Pigments, Paints and Varnishes from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai (formerly known as University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT)). Thereafter, he received a master’s degree in polymer science from the University of Akron, Ohio, USA. He also received a diploma in color science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Hair color: gray (semi-bald)
Eye color: black
family
He belongs to a Hindu Jain family. His father hails from Kapadvanj, a historic town in Kheda district of Gujarat.
Parents and siblings
His father Suryakant Dani is the co-founder of Asian Paints.
wife and children
His wife Ina Dani, like her husband, is also a keen yoga practitioner and a loyal follower of yoga teacher BKS Iyengar. She taught yoga to pregnant women at the Iyengar Yoga Center, which the couple established in 1998 in their residential building, Home Villa. She also serves as the Managing Trustee of Guruji’s Light of Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT).
Ina Dani, wife of Ashwin Dani
He had three sons: Jalaj Dani, Malav Dani and Hasit Dani. In 2017, Jalaj resigned from Asian Paints to start his own business. He has been with the company for 18 years, where he managed a variety of tasks including human resources, supply chain and chemicals portfolio. Later, he became a co-founder of Asian Paints. Malaf is the Chairman of Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of Asian Paints.
Ashwin Dani’s son Jalaj Dani
Malav Dani, son of Ashwin Dani
Profession
Dani began his career in 1967 at Inmont Corp in Detroit, USA as a development chemist. He joined Asian Paints in 1968 as a senior executive and held various positions including Director of Research and Development, Director of Engineering and Full-time Director. The company was founded by his father Suryakant Dani along with his three friends Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi and Arvind Vakil in February 1942 in Girgaon Gawadi, Mumbai. Later, the Choksey family sold their stake, while the remaining three families hold 52.3% of the company. He joined the company’s board of directors in 1970 and served as the company’s vice chairman and managing director from 1998 to 2009. Thereafter, he continued to serve as a non-executive director on the Board and as Vice Chairman of the Board and the Company. During the three years starting in 1995, he experienced various difficulties. He underwent heart bypass surgery, saw his longest-serving business partner leave the company, and witnessed a devastating fire destroy one of their major production facilities. Despite setbacks, he led Asian Paints to establish a 50:50 joint venture with PPG Industries of the United States, the world’s leading automotive coatings manufacturer. He is a founding director on the board of PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd, the first joint venture company with PPG Industries Inc. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of Sun Pharmaceuticals. Other positions he held include Chairman of Resins and Plastics Ltd., Gujarat Organics Ltd. and Hi-tech Plastics Ltd. He is also the founder and promoter of Loctite India Private Limited (later renamed as Henkel Adhesive Technologies India Private Limited). He grew the company through technological innovation, rural marketing and international acquisitions. He pioneered computerized color matching in Indian industry, a concept that was widely adopted in industries such as 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 the first to introduce coated plastic packaging in India and print on plastic. One of his best products included melamine, a clear wood coating sold under the brand name Apcolite. This product has almost monopolized the market share for about 15 years. Danny got the idea for the melamine when his executive director shared that he liked a lot of ice in his drinks, which would make the glass soggy and ruin the French polish on his table. The executive director urged Danny to find a solution to the problem. Dani spent six months developing Apcolite, which is quick-drying and waterproof. Asian Paints has been selected as one of Forbes Asia’s top 50 companies for three consecutive years in 2011, 2012 and 2013, with sales increasing by 20% annually. From 2018 to 2021, he served as chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the board of directors of the company. In fiscal year 2023, Asian Paints’ total revenue was 299.53 billion rupees and net profit was 41.002 billion rupees, making it the largest paint company in India.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- B. Krishnamurthy Excellence Award from Management Association and Center for Organizational Development, Hyderabad (2017)
- Businessman of the Year Award by Business India Magazine (2015)
- Color Society Lifetime Achievement Award (2012)
- Indian Paints Association (IPA) Lifetime Achievement Award (2011)
- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the Manufacturing Category (2003)
- Chemical Technology Foundation’s Annual Achievement Award – Chemical Industry (2003)
- Cheminor Award from the Materials Management Society of India for excellence in supply chain (2002)
net worth
As of September 28, 2023, the date of his death, his net worth was $7.8 billion. He was ranked 49th on Forbes India’s 2013 list of the 100 richest Indians with a net worth of $1.31 billion.
die
He died on September 28, 2023, after a brief illness.
Facts/Trivia
- Danny is an avid yoga practitioner. He is a loyal follower of Indian yoga teacher and author BKS Iyengar. Ashwin first came to Iyengar in 1980 for treatment for a herniated disc. Dani experienced 75% relief from just one yoga class and stopped seeing a physical therapist. During that period, Guruji traveled from Pune to Mumbai every weekend on the Deccan Queen train, and Danny and his wife also attended his courses. The couple wanted to create something permanent for yoga. So when they built Home Villa, a residential building in the 1990s, they first built an Iyengar Yoga Center on the ground floor. In this way, Iyengar yoga became a way of life for Danny’s family. Every day, the family tries to set aside at least an hour to practice yoga. Danny himself practices at least three times a week.
- Throughout his career, Danny has held key positions in various government and trade organizations. These positions include serving on the Presidential Advisory Council of the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA, serving as Vice Chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), participating in the Indian Chamber of Commerce Council, UDCT (now known as the College of Chemical Technology) Alumni Association, and Serves on the Governing Council of Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. He also serves as an advisor to the Central Board of Directors of Employees Provident Fund, Government of India.
- His son Jalaj Dani is married to Vita Dani, the niece of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani. Her brothers Hital Meswani and Nikhil Meswani are board members of Reliance Industries.
- Ashwin Dani is an art connoisseur.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education