Mukesh Ambani points to succession plan for Reliance Industries
Reliance Succession: Three Bodies, One Soul
The annual shareholder meet of one of India’s most critical conglomerates, Reliance Industries, is a significant event in the country’s corporate calendar.
This year, near the end of the two-hour bonanza of speeches by his family, 69-year-old Mukesh Ambani, one of the most powerful billionaires in India, spoke with some detail about his succession plans for the conglomerate that runs the world’s largest petrochemical refinery, one of the largest telecom companies with a strong pivot towards AI and is creating a massive retail empire.
It has long been expected that the businesses will be operationally divvied up but held jointly between his three kids, the 34-year-old twins Akash and Isha and their 31-year-old sibling, Anant. But as we wrote in a detailed story last year, there have been concerns, including by some large shareholders, about the ability of the three heirs to lead the company in the absence of their father.
On Friday, as his wont, Ambani announced grand plans for his companies, including the nearly $4bn IPO for his telecom arm, Jio Platforms, and a strong pivot towards green energy. Hit first by the trade conflict with the US last year and then the war in the Middle East, Ambani’s petroleum business has been particularly affected. But, he said on Friday: “Tough times never last; tough nations do.”
One of the key plans for the conglomerate, he said, was succession, with his three heirs completing three years on the board of the flagship Reliance Industries.
Akash is heading the technology business, including Jio Infocomm, which has 524mn users and is betting big on AI. Isha helms the consumer business that includes the expanding Reliance Retail, quick commerce and luxury products. And Anant is leading the energy arms and the transition towards renewables.
Without a doubt, Ambani is a supremely talented businessman. After a bitter succession battle with his brother Anil over the business group founded by their father Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh inherited half of the constituent companies about 25 years ago.
He wants to avoid such division and bitterness for his three kids. Strongly implying a joint succession plan, he said: “They are three bodies, one soul. Their soul is Reliance. One single indivisible Reliance, now and forever.”
The company had groomed nearly 500 young leaders who would assist the next Ambani generation in their business, he said. While he will “continue to provide hands-on leadership, the generational transfer of day-to-day management at Reliance is almost complete”.
His comments firm up previous expectations. But to gain the trust of the shareholders, the three siblings will need to step forward beyond these annual speeches, as some investors feel they don’t know the potential heirs well enough.
For now, the chatter in Mumbai suggests momentum may be with the family of the other “A” of corporate India, Gautam Adani (who recently overtook Ambani to become Asia’s richest man). The Adanis continue to consolidate their position in sectors such as infrastructure and are expanding into new areas including energy and media, competing directly with the Ambanis but arguably with more hunger.