Asian Paints' boss Ashwin Dani says he got into IIM but didn’t do MBA. Old video resurfaces

As of 2023, Ashwin Dani's net worth is estimated to be approximately $7.1 billion

Asian Paints non-executive director Ashwin Dani, who died at 79 on Thursday, had revealed during an award ceremony that despite getting through IIM and having paid the fees, he decided against getting an MBA and chose to get a work experience first.

Speaking after getting a lifetime achievement award from CNBCTV18 last year, a second-generation scion of the family that co-founded Asian Paints, said that the company was the only Indian firm manufacturing paints in the country while all the others were British and were unwilling to share their technology. That's when Dani decided to learn the technology from institutes such as the Mumbai University for Asian Paints to manufacture their products independently.

"When I entered the paint industry, among the top seven paint companies, Asian Paints was the only Indian company, all others were British. And nobody wanted to give us the technology at that time," Ashwin Dani said. "Our then chairman told me 'Ashwin, there is no other alternative but to be atmanirbhar' at that time. And that is why in the first 20 years, I've worked at the Bhandup factory, (visiting) in the morning at 8.30, and developed the products."

Key lessons for MBA aspirants & startups from Ashwin Dani of @asianpaints as he receives #CNBCTV18IBLA Lifetime Achievement Award.@latha_venkatesh@ShereenBhan#LeadersofChangepic.twitter.com/154FcHLiFu

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 1, 2022

He also thanked Mumbai University for training him, before he went to the US to pursue a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron.

"Not preferring to join IIM in '65 after having gotten admission and paid the fees. Would any of the youngsters do so in today's time? No," Dani said. "Because MBA is so deeply embedded... In every industry, you must achieve some kind of work experience first, and then only you can apply any norms of management. That's what I practiced and today, if you combine the numbers of the top three paint companies, they cannot match our sales."

Dani started his journey at Asian Paints in 1968 as a senior executive and rose through the ranks to eventually lead the company. Dani’s contribution was instrumental to the company's growth as the largest paint maker in the country with a group turnover of Rs 21,700 crore.

As of 2023, Ashwin Dani's net worth is estimated to be approximately $7.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Read more: Indian Business Leader Awards: Ashwin Dani felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award