Jalaj Dani is an Indian businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is a second generation descendant of the Dani family, one of the founding families of Asian Paints Limited, India’s largest household paint company. He was the public face of Asian Paints for almost two decades, during which he handled human resources, supply chain and chemicals portfolios at the company. In 2017, he resigned from his leadership roles at Asian Paints and became its co-promoter. He is the Chairman of Adverb Technologies and IIM Trichy and an Independent Director of HDFC and Havells.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Jalaj Ashwin Dani is a resident of Mumbai. He pursued a course in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA and enrolled in the Advanced Management Program from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, Paris.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 11″
Hair Colour: Black (Half Bald)
Eye colour: black
Jalaj Dani with his son Mudit Dani
Family
He belongs to a Hindu Jain family. His grandfather was a resident of Kapadvanj, a historical town in Kheda district of Gujarat.
parents and siblings
His father, Ashwin Dani (1944–2023), was the non-executive chairman of Asian Paints Limited. He died after a brief illness on 28 September 2023.
Indian businessman Ashwin Suryakant Dani
His mother’s name is Ina Dani. She is a keen yoga practitioner and follower of yoga teacher BKS Iyengar. She taught yoga to pregnant women at the Iyengar Yoga Centre, which the husband-wife established in 1998 in their residential building, Home Villa. He has also served as the Managing Trustee of Guruji Iyengar’s Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT).
Ina Ashwin Dani
He has two brothers, Malav Dani and Hasit Dani, both of whom serve as non-executive directors on the board of Asian Paints.
Malav Dani, brother of Jalaj Dani
Hasit Dani, brother of Jalaj Dani
wife and children
His wife, Vita Dani, is a sports entrepreneur and philanthropist who runs the Dani Foundation. She is also the chairperson of 11evenSports. Additionally, Vita co-owns the Chennaiyin FC soccer club, which participates in the Indian Soccer League, along with actor Abhishek Bachchan and former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni. She is also the promoter of the professional table tennis league Ultimate Table Tennis. They have two children, a son, Mudit, who is a professional table tennis player, and a daughter, Smiti Dani, who is a business analyst at McKinsey & Company.
Jalaj Dani with his wife Vita Dani
Jalaj Dani and Veeta Dani’s children, Mudit and Smiti Dani
livelihood
Jalaj Ashwin started his career by joining Asian Paints Limited. The company was founded by his grandfather Suryakant Dani along with his three friends Champaklal Choksi, Chimanlal Choksi and Arvind Vakil in February 1942 in Gaivadi, Girgaum, Mumbai. In June 1999, Jalaj resigned as Director of the Asian Paints Board and was re-appointed Vice Chairman, International.
Jalaj Dani speaking at an Isha Foundation event in 2017 about how coaching can transform and harness people’s potential.
In 2002, when Jalaj was head of international operations, Asian Paints became a major world player in the decorative paint business after the acquisition of a controlling stake in Berger International Limited. After this Jalaj was appointed chairman of Berger International. In April 2004, he took up the role of International President at Asian Paints, after which he oversaw several acquisitions overseas. He worked in this post for eight years. In April 2012, he was promoted as President of HR, International and Chemicals in the company. In June 2015, he became President of Human Resources, Supply Chain and Chemicals. He resigned from his leadership position at Asian Paints in 2017 after an 18-year tenure with the company. Subsequently, he became the co-promoter of Asian Paints. In February 2018, he became a board member of Adverb Technologies Pvt Ltd, India’s largest robotics company that focuses on warehouse automation and robotics. In September 2020, he became the President of Addverb Technologies.
Jalaj Dani at the inauguration of Adverb Technologies’ world-class manufacturing facility ‘Bot-Valley’ in 2021
In March 2018, he became the Chairman of the Sports, Physical Education, Fitness and Leisure Skills Council (SPEFL-SC). Additionally, he is the Invited Chairman and Board Member of the start-up- Fourth Frontier Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which has developed the world’s first and only wearable smart heart monitor that provides high quality continuous ECG and real-time feedback on heart health. Is. Jalaj was the Chairman of the Paints and Coatings Sector Skill Council (PCSC) from its inception in 2015 to September 2017. He was the President of The Indian Paint Association (IPA) from 2015 to 2017. Jalaj is actively involved in the Indian Confederation. Industry (CII), Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and other business councils in various capacities. He is a trustee of the Tribhuvandas Foundation, which was founded by Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, the founder president of the Kheda District Milk Producers Cooperative Union (now known as AMUL). In November 2018, he became the president of the Sportscom Industry Confederation, a non-profit organization. He is an investor in various start-up companies such as Skillmatics i.e. Grasper Global Pvt Ltd (engaged in educational products and games for children), Smart Express Pvt Ltd (in the field of logistics), and Surge Technologies, a start-up. America, (engaged in innovative technology-enabled fitness and sports equipment that helps fitness enthusiasts improve the quality of their workouts).
Other prominent positions held by Jalaj Dani:
- Chairman, Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management (Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu)
Jalaj Dani in IIM Trichy
- Independent Director on the Board of HDFC Limited and Havells India Limited
- Director, Reliance Foundation
- Board member of the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), which functions under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India
- Member of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushalya Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) Steering Committee, which functions under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India
- Member, Advisory Committee, Fit India Movement
- Chairman of Sports, Physical Education, Health and Leisure Skills Council (SPEFL-SC)
- President, Sportscom Industry Confederation
- National Council Member (CII) and Co-Chairman of the National Committee on Sports (CII)
- Member of National Executive Committee, FICCI
- Next Generation of Leaders Board (NGLB) of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad
- Board Member of Piramal Foundation and Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership
- Vice President of Kapadvanj Kelwani Mandal, Gujarat
- Trustee of Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai
- Governing Board Member of Mumbai First and Project Mumbai
- Member of the Governing Body of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat as an expert educationist
philanthropy
The Dani family is known for its focus on creative philanthropy, i.e. empowering people and communities through transformative work such as holistic education, physical literacy and promoting well-being like sports. In early 2010, Jalaj and Vita Dani began working together for 80 years. -An old institution named Kapadvanj Kelwani Mandal to provide affordable education to the citizens of Kapadvanj, the native town of the Dani family. The foundation runs 13 educational institutions, many of which are named after Suryakant Dani. Later, the husband-wife duo founded the non-profit initiative Dani Foundation, which aims to create a self-reliant society. The foundation is associated with five organisations, Kapadvanj Kelwani Mandal, Annamrita Trust, ELMS Sports Foundation, Project Mumbai and Pratham. It also established the Sports for Transformation Fellowship, which allows sports professionals to work with teachers. Annamrita works towards implementing the mid-day meal program of the government in schools. The first aims to improve the quality of education for disadvantaged children. Dani Foundation also supports Project Mumbai. A unique model of public-private-people partnership, Project Mumbai works across multiple sectors from health to environment and governance to education to improve the city of Mumbai. Dani Foundation is the promoter of ELMS Sports Foundation, which focuses on growing sports, especially grassroots sports, to help the country win medals in global sporting events.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Jalaj Dani’s wife Vita Dani is the niece of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani. His brothers, Hital Meswani and Nikhil Meswani, serve on the board of Reliance Industries.
- Jalaj was recognized by Business India Magazine in 1998 as one of the ‘Stars 2000’ – potential leaders in the new millennium.
- As of 2022, he holds 16,00,200 fully paid-up equity shares in Asian Paints.
- As on 28 September 2023, the net worth of Jalaj Dani’s father Ashwin Dani was $ 7.8 billion. With a net worth of $1310 million, he was ranked #49 on Forbes India’s 2013 list of the 100 richest Indians.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn