Asian Paints names Leo Puri as chairman

Asian Paints Ltd has named financial services veteran Leo Puri as its next chairman, setting up a board transition at India’s largest paint company while competition in a once unusually concentrated market intensifies.

Puri joined the board as an additional independent director on 7 September and is due to become chairman on 23 January 2027. His five-year board term runs through September 2031. He will succeed R Seshasayee, whose second term as an independent director ends on 22 January.

The appointment is a change in board leadership rather than executive management. Amit Syngle remains managing director and chief executive, while Manish Choksi is non-executive vice chairman.

Puri’s executive career has been centered on financial services and investment, though he also brings extensive consumer-goods board experience. He served as an independent director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd from 2018 until June 2025, including as chairman of its risk management and ESG committees.

He previously led UTI Asset Management and held senior roles at JPMorgan, Warburg Pincus and McKinsey. He currently serves as India advisory chairman at private equity group Apax Partners, chairman of Fortis Healthcare and lead independent director at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and sits on the board of Amadeus IT Group.

Puri’s appointment comes as Asian Paints faces a much less comfortable competitive environment. Aditya Birla Group has committed heavily to its Birla Opus paints business, while JSW has also expanded its position in the industry. The new capacity has forced incumbent manufacturers to defend dealers, distribution reach, pricing and market share more aggressively.

Asian Paints nevertheless entered the leadership transition with an improvement in quarterly performance. Consolidated net sales rose 17.9% from a year earlier to ₹10,521 crore in the June quarter, while consolidated net profit increased 40% to ₹1,539 crore. Standalone sales grew 16.7% and standalone profit 34.3%.