Reliance of the future – in the hands of Akash, Isha and Anant

• Akash Ambani was appointed as the chairman of the Reliance Jio board after Mukesh Ambani stepped down from the role.
• Isha Ambani, Akash’s twin, will lead the retail business, he announced at the AGM.
• Anant Ambani, the youngest of Ambani siblings will head the new energy business.
• Mukesh Ambani will continue to provide hands-on leadership to RIL as before.
• Mukesh Ambani also urged the shareholders to judge him and his leadership team by their performance.

Reliance Industries’ (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani today announced a succession plan for the company, almost two months after son Akash Ambani was named chairman of Reliance Jio.

Isha Ambani, Akash’s twin, will lead the retail business while Anant Ambani, his youngest son, will head the new energy business that will be based out of Jamnagar, Gujarat.

“All three of them have the mindset of the founder (Dhirubhai Ambani),” said the 65-year-old Mukesh Ambani at his company’s 45th annual general meeting (AGM) today.

Calling them the Young leaders of Reliance, Mukesh Ambani sought the blessings of the shareholders for them. “They are part of a young team of leaders and professionals who are already doing amazing things at Reliance. All of them are being mentored on a daily basis by RIL’s senior leaders, including the chairman and the board of directors,” he said.

The company is building a fully integrated new energy manufacturing ecosystem at Jamnagar. “Anant, in fact, spends most of his time at Jamnagar,” said the senior Ambani.

Mukesh Ambani also urged the shareholders to judge him and his leadership team by their performance.

‘Will make the company robust, resilient, purpose-driven & truly future-ready’

Even as Mukesh Ambani continues to provide hands-on leadership to RIL as before, he said that he will dedicate himself to making the company more robust, more resilient, more purpose-driven, and truly future-ready.

A succession plan at the Reliance group was one of the most anticipated announcements from the AGM, along with a timeline of the demerger and public issue of telecom and retail businesses. While no timeline on fund raising plans was announced, today’s announcement however is a step ahead in the direction.

Akash Ambani is a Brown University graduate who has been a part of multiple announcements of Jio, including the launch of its operations in 2016. He is also known to have played a part in forging a deal with Facebook, now called Meta, in 2020.

Isha Ambani is Stanford-educated and like her twin, has been a part of many retail announcements over the years, including the collaboration with WhatsApp c AGM. She also announced the launch of an FMCG business this year.

Isha and Akash are on the board of directors of the retail and telecom businesses, while Anant is a director of the group’s solar business.

Isha is believed to have been the brains behind the signing of many brand partnerships in the retail business over the years and has also helped launch its lifestyle portal, Ajio.

In 2005, the erstwhile Reliance Industries, founded by Dhirubhai Ambani, was divided between the brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, where the former retained the right to use the company’s name. However, cracks had started to build up even before the division, which culminated in a long and public fight that landed the companies in courts.

The founder of Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Ambani passed away in 2002, without leaving a will.

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