Manish Kohli joins JSW Dulux as deputy GM for corporate communications

MUMBAI: From payments and financial services to paint, Manish Kohli is giving his career a fresh coat of colour. The communications professional has joined JSW Dulux as deputy general manager – corporate communications, where he will lead the public relations mandate for the organisation.

Kohli announced the move on LinkedIn, describing it as the beginning of a new chapter in a sector undergoing considerable change. He will work with the company’s leadership team to shape its corporate narrative as competition intensifies and consumer aspirations evolve in India’s paints market.

The appointment brings to JSW Dulux a communications professional whose career has spanned advertising, digital payments, financial services and manufacturing. Before this move, Kohli was chief manager – corporate communications at L&T Finance, where he spent three years and five months, from June 2023 to October 2026.

At L&T Finance, he worked across corporate reputation, media relations and thought leadership, supporting the company’s ‘Risk-first, Tech-first’ positioning. His responsibilities included managing press conferences, financial results announcements, regional media outreach and communications for senior leadership. He also worked on media partnerships, industry events, awards, employer branding and internal communications.

His work at the financial services company extended to campaigns and experiential public relations. These included ‘Pillion Rider to Rider’, a PR activation in Hubballi, Karnataka; ‘Sachet with Sachet’, a fraud-awareness initiative; ‘Just Zoom’ for two-wheeler loans; ‘Aapke Business Ka Game Changer’; and ‘The Complete Home Loan’ campaign.

Kohli also led the communications strategy for L&T Finance’s RAISE event, the company’s artificial intelligence-focused platform, and worked on its presence at industry gatherings such as the Global Business Summit, Global Fintech Fest and ET Brand Equity Series.

His remit covered corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance communications as well. He supported regional launches of the company’s Digital Sakhi projects in Saharsa in Bihar, Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Udaipur in Rajasthan, alongside contributing to integrated annual reports and the company’s ESG narrative.

Before L&T Finance, Kohli spent four years and five months at Worldline, where he held roles across marketing and communications. He was associate director – marketing communications from September 2022 to May 2023, following stints as senior manager and manager in the function.

At Worldline, his work included public relations, integrated marketing campaigns, product launches and research-led communication. He worked on the launch of the VABOX voice alert box, campaigns around dynamic currency conversion and bank EMIs, and the ‘Buland Bharat’, ‘PayTech Pioneer’ and ‘One Merchant Hub’ initiatives. He also contributed to Worldline India’s digital payments reports and white papers, and supported the communication of the Ingenico Group acquisition.

Kohli’s experience in the payments ecosystem goes back further. He spent four years and three months at the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), joining as assistant manager – corporate communications in November 2014 before moving to deputy manager in July 2017. He remained with the organisation until January 2019.

At NPCI, he worked on national, regional and international public relations for products and platforms including Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), RuPay cards and Bharat BillPay. His assignments included media workshops on digital payments, the UPI Hackathon press conference and a campaign involving 120 e-payment literacy workshops in September 2015 to mark World Literacy Day.

He also handled media relations, thought leadership for senior executives, crisis communication, internal communication, CSR communication and media training. Earlier in his career, he worked as executive assistant to the secretary general at the Advertising Standards Council of India from December 2013 to October 2014, contributing to the organisation’s mobile app, online learning portal, website revamp and social media presence.

Kohli also has experience in business development and strategic alliances through his stint as partner at POrMA Gifting Solutions between July 2013 and July 2014.

The move to JSW Dulux places him in a different corner of the corporate communications landscape. India’s paints sector is seeing evolving consumer preferences and rising competition, making brand positioning, corporate reputation and leadership communication increasingly important as companies seek to establish their place in the market.

For Kohli, the transition brings together experience built across financial services, payments, advertising and manufacturing. His next assignment will be to help shape how JSW Dulux tells its story in a market where the competition is no longer just about the colour on the walls, but also the brands behind it.

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