Executive Profile: Rakesh Rao, Group CEO of Leading Paint Company Crown Paints Kenya PLC

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Rakesh Rao is an award-winning business executive credited with delivering high-impact leadership and next-level business performance. Over the last 15 years, he has matured Crown Paints PLC into an NSE-listed and industry-leading brand operating across four countries in East Africa.

The solid evolution of Crown Paints Group under his leadership as the Group CEO, a position he has held since 2005, demonstrates his keen visionary focus, strategic leadership and cutting-edge business innovations.

Some of his most notable contributions include: bolstering profitability from $0.3M to $6M average, year on year since 2005; augmenting market capitalization to $3.5B; raising market share from 48% to 65% in Kenya for premium segment; and expanding opportunities in the East African market for brand growth through steering market entry of Crown Paints in Uganda under the name Regal Paints, and as Crown Paints in Tanzania and Rwanda. He also steered the launch of the first ever digital platforms for home décor in East Africa, including Painters’ loyalty program, and mobile applications such as the Crown Colour App.

This track-record of outstanding performance has earned him local and international recognitions, and awards. He was shortlisted among the top businessmen of the year between 2011 and 2016, during which Crown Paints PLC was named ‘Company of the Year’.

In other engagements, Rakesh Rao is a philanthropist and has keen interest on social impact, and developing the community. To this end, he has championed key corporate social responsibility initiatives touching the lives of the people in Kenya’s rural and urban regions. A notable contribution is the ‘Team Kubwa Initiative’ that continues to boost the education levels of painters in Kenya, uplifting many from poverty.

His high-impact tenure at the Group can be summarized as an evolutionary journey proving that consistency and innovation are critical contributors to a company’s market success.

Before joining Crown Paints PLC, Rakesh worked with multinational companies like General Electric, Tata Group, and Mitsubishi, in various management capacities.

EXPERIENCE

Rakesh Rao has been Group CEO of Crown Paints Kenya PLC for more than 17 years. Some of his notable core executive value-creating initiatives as Head of the Group include:
1. People Leadership – Team Building, Empowerment and Delegation
2. Financial Performance and P&L Ownership
3. Strategic Board Liaison
4. Strategic Direction and Operations Management
5. Social Impact and Corporate Social Responsibility

EDUCATION

Rakesh Rao holds a Master of Business Administration, a Diploma in Costing and Management Accounting and a Bachelor of Commerce from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya. Recently, he earned his PhD in Global Leadership and Management from the European International University (Paris).

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• 1994: Crown Paints PLC was the first paint company to be listed in Nairobi Stock Exchange.
• 2008: Crown Paints PLC acquired a Superbrands status.
• 2010: Crown Paints PLC awarded first position in the 3rd Kisumu Homes Export Aga Khan Hall Kisumu.
• 2011: Crown Paints PLC awarded ‘Home Design Interiors Winner’ at the 5th Mombasa Homes Expo.
• 2012: Crown Paints PLC named winner of the 2012 COYA ‘Financial Management Award’.
• 2014: Crown Paints PLC won 4 COYA Awards in the ‘Leadership and Management’, ‘Productivity and Quality’, ‘CEO of the Year’, and ‘Overall Company of the Year’ categories.
• 2016: Crown Paints PLC won COYA/SMOYA Awards for ‘Leadership and Management’, ‘Customer Orientation and Marketing Innovation’, and ‘ICT and Knowledge Management’.
• 2018: Crown Paints PLC celebrated 60 years of success in Kenya.
• 2019: Crown Paints PLC named winner in the ‘Innovation and Productivity’ category at the Employer of the Year Awards (EYA) by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE).

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