The whiff of speculation over a succession plan that has hovered for months over the Reliance group turned into a gust of change on Monday with the decision to elevate Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani as directors of Reliance Industries, the flagship of the country’s largest private conglomerate.
Mukesh Ambani told shareholders at the company’s virtual AGM on Monday that he will continue as RIL CMD for the next five years.
At the same time, Nita Ambani stepped down as RIL director but will be a permanent invitee to the RIL board’s deliberations. She will continue as chairperson of Reliance Foundation.
Akash Ambani. File photo
The Reliance board met ahead of the AGM to approve the appointment of the Ambani scions which will now be placed before the shareholders.
The board had approved the appointment of Mukesh Ambani on July 21, which was put up for vote on Monday.
Reliance moved a special resolution for the vote on Ambani’s reappointment, which is necessary for directors above 70 years, according to Companies Act. Ambani now 66 will attain the age of 70 on April 19, 2027.
Ambani told the shareholders that he has assigned for himself three responsibilities: "First: I shall groom and empower all the Next-Gen leaders at Reliance and prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Anant Ambani. File photo
“Second: I shall especially mentor Akash, Isha and Anant so that they can provide collective leadership and dependably take Reliance to greater heights of growth and value in the decades ahead.
“Third: Together with the Board and all my long-time colleagues, I shall further enrich Reliance’s unique institutional culture, which has sustained your company’s perpetual and exponential growth.’’
Ambani has been talking about succession since 2021. Last year, he handed over the baton of India’s largest mobile firm Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to his first-born Akash Ambani, who was appointed the chairman.
Akash’s twin sister Isha is driving the expansion of Reliance Retail into new categories and geographies, and is already a director on the boards of the retail unit, Reliance Retail Ventures, which houses the conglomerate’s bets in India’s brick-and-mortar and e-commerce industries.
Recently she was appointed the non-executive director of Jio Financial Services Ltd, the demerged financial services unit of RIL.
The youngest of the siblings, Anant, is a director at Reliance’s new energy business, retail unit as well as Jio Platforms and its energy, and oil and chemical units.
Stocks fall
Ambani however did not offer a timeline on the listing of the telecom and retail business at the AGM that led to the stock slipping 1.11 per cent or Rs 27.40 to Rs 2,442.55 on the BSE on Monday.
Reliance in 2019 had said the units will be listed publicly in five years. Investors were expecting an update on the timeline after Ambani last year said more details would be shared at this year’s meeting.
With Agency inputs
