Grasim Industries, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, appointed Sachin Sahay as Chief Executive Officer of its paints business, Birla Opus Paints. Sahay assumed charge from February 16. The appointment follows a leadership transition at Birla Opus Paints after the former CEO, Rakshit Hargave, stepped down in November to take over as Chief Executive Officer of Britannia Industries. Subsequently, Grasim appointed Himanshu Kapania as interim CEO to ensure continuity during the transition period.
Sahay Brings Three Decades of FMCG Leadership
Sahay joins Birla Opus Paints from ITC, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President – Sales. He brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in sales and marketing, spanning entrepreneurial roles and multi-geography assignments across India. Over the years, he has built a strong reputation for scaling businesses and driving market expansion in highly competitive consumer sectors.
Key Role in ITC’s FMCG Growth Journey
During his tenure at ITC, Sahay played a pivotal role in the company’s FMCG transformation. He was instrumental in building and scaling ITC’s FMCG distribution channel from greenfield operations to a robust nationwide network. In addition, he led the launch and growth of several brands while strengthening distribution capabilities across both urban and rural markets.
Driving Transformation Through Process and People
Sahay has also led complex transformation initiatives by combining strong process discipline with people-centric leadership. Notably, he played a key role in implementing field force automation and streamlining common stockist operations across ITC’s diverse portfolio, including cigarettes, foods, and FMCG products. According to Grasim, these initiatives enabled more efficient capital deployment and improved engagement with channel partners, contributing to sustained business performance. As reported by thehindubusinessline.com, with Sahay’s appointment, Grasim aims to further strengthen leadership at Birla Opus Paints as the business continues to scale operations and build its presence in India’s competitive paints market.
