CEO of the year: How KBS Anand planned Asian Paints' success in India

The lasting legacy of the Asian Paints chief, who retired last year, will be the diversification he undertook without hurting the core business

Kanwar Bir Singh Anand recalls a survey by Asian Paints in 2000 and the surprised glances that he and his colleagues exchanged on discovering that it was the woman of the house who drove the choice of paint. It taught him the foolhardiness of preconceived ideas. 
 
“She wasn’t interested in paints per se, but how it could change her home, which was the second most important aspect of her life after her family. The idea that Asian Paints could add value to the home came from there,” said Anand.
 
This insight came long ago, not when he joined