Mukesh Ambani said he will continue to mentor new leaders, including his children Akash, Anant, and Isha.
Reliance AGM Takeaways: Mukesh Ambani will continue as the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries for five more years. This was announced at the company’s 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday. He said that he will continue to mentor new leaders, including his children Akash, Anant, and Isha. The company has announced they will be appointed to the board of Reliance Industries.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, has set the wheels in motion to execute the succession plan for his USD 200-billion energy-to-technology conglomerate Reliance Industries, hence his three children Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani, and Anant Ambani have been appointed to the board of the company, under his tutelage during his tenure as the Chairman and Managing Director of RIL for five more years.
Before their elevation, the three children were involved only at the operating business level and none were on the board of India’s largest listed company.
Reliance Board Meeting Ahead Of Reliance Annual General Meeting
The board of Reliance met ahead of the company’s annual general meeting to approve the appointment of Isha and Akash, who are twins, as well as Anant, as the “non-executive directors of the company,” the firm said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
Mukesh Ambani during the shareholders’ meeting said US Ivy League university-educated scions have “earned their stripes” and he saw “the flame” of his legendary father Dhirubhai shine in them.
Mukesh Ambani Joined Board In 1977
Mukesh Ambani joined the board of India’s most valuable company at the age of 20 years in 1977 and during Monday’s AGM secured another five-year term as the company’s Chairman and MD after the expiry of the current term on April 19, 2024.
“Today, I see both my father and me in Isha, Akash, and Anant. I see the flame of Dhirubhai shine in all of them,” he said, adding he would mentor them for the leadership role.
“I shall continue to perform my duties and responsibilities as Chairman and Managing Director for five more years, with greater vigour,” said Ambani.
Mukesh Ambani Dropped Succession Hints In 2021
Mukesh Ambani hinted at the succession of his children to the board in 2021. Last year, he handed over the charge of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India’s largest mobile firm to his elder children Akash Ambani, and identified retail business for his twin sister Isha Ambani 31 while a new energy business was announced for Anant, 27.
Jio Infocomm, chaired by Mukesh Ambani, is a subsidiary of Jio Platforms in which Meta and Google hold stakes. Reliance Industries Ltd is the parent of Jio Platforms.
Nita Ambani Steps Down From Company’s Board
Nita Ambani, wife of Mukesh Ambani, has stepped down from the company’s board effective today, Monday, August 28. Nita has resigned from the Reliance Industries board to devote more of her time to the Reliance Foundation of which she is the Founder Chairperson, said the company in a statement.
“Nita Ambani is resigning from Reliance Industries board to devote more of her time to the Reliance Foundation of which she is the Founder Chairperson,” said Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday adding that it has appointed Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani, and Anant Ambani as directors to the board.
The Board of Directors also accepted the resignation of Nita Ambani from the Board.
However, she will continue to attend all board meetings as a permanent invitee in her capacity as the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation.
Reliance’s Three Main Businesses
Reliance has now had three main businesses, oil and petrochemicals, telecom, and retail, one each identified for the three siblings. Recently, it has added a financial services business to which Isha Ambani has been appointed as a board member.
Akash Ambani, who attended Brown University, was part of a team that brokered multi-billion dollar investment in Jio Platforms and also mentors the group’s IPL cricket team. Isha Ambani, who graduated from Yale University and studied MBA at Stanford University, has been driving the expansion of Reliance Retail into new categories and geographies.
Anant Ambani, who also went to Brown University, is involved with the recently launched new energy business that is supposed to help offset emissions from Reliance’s mainstay fossil fuel business. An animal lover, he was the force behind building a zoo in Gujarat and is also said to taking a keen interest in corporate affairs and security detailing of his father.
Akash and Isha have been regulars at Reliance AGMs for the last couple of years, making presentations on new pathways in the businesses they looked after.
“Their appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders,” said Reliance in a statement. While retail and digital services are housed in separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Oil-to-Chemical or O2C business is a functional division of Reliance. The new energy business is also with the parent firm.
The three businesses are almost equal in size.
The Growth Of Reliance Businesses
Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery is now the world’s biggest single-site integrated refinery complex while Jio is the largest telecom firm with 450 million subscribers and its retail business is the biggest network of shops.
Akash and Isha have been on the boards of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the company that operates supermarkets offering consumer electronics, food and grocery, fashion, jewellery, footwear, and clothing as well as the online retail venture JioMart, and digital arm Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) since October 2014.
Anant has recently been inducted as a director on RRVL. He has been a director of Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) since May 2020.
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