Rakshit Hargave, the Chief Executive Officer of Birla Opus, has stepped down from the Aditya Birla Group’s paint company. Hargave was associated with the Aditya Birla Group for the last four years and became CEO of the 18-month-old paint company in March this year.
As per a Reuters report, Hargave has moved on to FMCG major Britannia Industries, where he will assume the office of Chief Executive Officer. He tendered his resignation to the Grasim Industries board of directors on November 1, effective immediately.
Hargave mentioned in his letter of resignation that he is moving on “to pursue career opportunities outside the company”.
Birla Opus performance in Q2
While Grasim Industries, the parent company of Birla Opus, did not disclose the standalone financials of Birla Opus, the company’s investor presentation shows that Birla Opus has spent Rs 375 crore in the first two quarters of FY26 and approximately Rs 9,727 crore in total since its inception. At the launch, Grasim Industries had announced a capex of Rs 10,000 crore for the new paint company.
As UltraTech Cement, part of Grasim Industries, already had an extensive deal network, Birla Opus extended rapidly to the major markets. Grasim Industries says that the Birla Opus’s distribution network has expanded to over 10,000 towns. The business has expanded its portfolio to 191 products, featuring over 1,750 SKUs, the company said.
While Birla Opus created major disruption in the paint market in its first year of launch, its expansion growth has reached a normalised level in recent quarters. According to a Nomura report, while competitive intensity remains high, it seems Birla Opus sales and dealer expansion are now growing at a normalised pace, and it is not impacting the growth of other players like it did before.