Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, July 2025 — Ashish Rai has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer – Decorative Paints at JSW Paints, marking a significant leadership transition for the organization as it advances its ambitious vision in the decorative paints industry. In his new role, Ashish will have full P&L responsibility and will lead the company’s decorative paints vertical across India, reporting directly into the JSW Group’s top leadership.
Ashish joined JSW Paints in May 2024 as Chief Business Officer – Decorative Paints, where he successfully led the company’s sales and marketing functions. Under his stewardship, the decorative division witnessed impactful growth strategies, consumer engagement programs, and enhanced market positioning.
Prior to joining JSW, Ashish had a distinguished 18-year career at Unilever, where he played a variety of strategic leadership roles. Most recently, he served as Head – Distributive Trade Transformation, leading Unilever’s global transformation in the distributive trade segment across 23 markets. Earlier, as Global Vice President – Distributive Trade & B2B E-commerce, he shaped digital transformation strategies for small retailers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
From 2017 to 2020, Ashish served as Managing Director at Unilever Nepal, where he delivered exceptional results by steering operational excellence and brand growth in a highly competitive market. His earlier roles at Colgate Palmolive and Infosys further add to his diverse and cross-functional leadership exposure across FMCG and technology sectors.
An alumnus of Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi and a Chemical Engineering graduate from IIT Roorkee, Ashish brings a strong combination of business strategy, digital transformation, and consumer-focused innovation. His appointment comes at a crucial time as JSW Paints scales its footprint across India with a strong focus on sustainability, customer delight, and thoughtful design.
With Ashish at the helm, JSW Paints is poised to redefine the decorative paints landscape through innovative business models and deeper consumer connections.
JSW Paints is a part of the US$22 billion JSW Group, complementing the Group’s steel and cement offerings for home-building and infrastructure. As a progressive and thoughtful paint brand, JSW Paints operates in both industrial coatings and decorative paints, with a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and consumer-centricity. The brand inspires customers to Think Beautiful, emphasizing the transformative power of color, creativity, and conscious choices.
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