JSW Paints elevates Ashish Rai to CEO, Decorative Paints

JSW Paints has named Ashish Rai as its new chief executive, promoting him from his role as chief business officer for decorative paints, the company said on Friday.

Rai began his career as a software engineer at Infosys before moving into consumer goods, joining Colgate-Palmolive as an area sales manager and later managing modern trade accounts in western India. He subsequently joined Unilever, where he rose through the ranks to lead distributive trade transformation, overseeing a cross-functional team spanning product management, finance, human resources and in-market operations.

In his most recent role as global vice president for distributive trade and B2B e-commerce at Unilever, Rai managed business strategy and operations across Asia, Africa and Latin America. He focused on expanding digital tools for small retailers, pushing for broader adoption of e-commerce platforms in a dozen key markets.

His appointment comes as JSW Paints seeks to expand its footprint in India’s competitive decorative paints market, which has seen a surge in demand amid rising urbanization and housing activity.

Read More: Unilever's Ashish Rai joins JSW Paints as chief business officer, decorative paints