Isha to lead RIL’s retail biz, Anant new energy

“All our next-gen leaders are determined, focused, and brimming with new ideas. We have put in place a governance system to ensure accountability at all levels. Akash and Isha have assumed leadership roles in Jio and Retail, and Anant has joined the new energy business,” Ambani said at RIL’s 45th annual general meeting (AGM).

The curtains were raised on all three scions and their individual businesses for the first time by the senior Ambani.

This June, Akash Ambani was given the reins of the six-year-old telecom business—Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), which will invest ₹2 trillion in ushering in 5G this Diwali.

Twin Isha Ambani will lead the group’s retail business, which has been on a mammoth expansion plan, bringing in global brands to India and investing in homegrown firms as well.

Anant Ambani will take over the new energy business, which is strongly focused on renewables.

Mukesh Ambani mentioned that his third son spends most of his time in Jamnagar, the centre of the group’s refineries and green energy business.

Ambani, though, did not spell out the future leaders of the company’s core energy business.

RIL’s succession plan, one of the largest in India Inc., is still in the process, and the three heirs are getting mentored.

“All of them are being mentored on a daily basis by our senior leaders, including myself and the board of directors,” 65-year-old Ambani told shareholders.

However, he highlighted that the interests of one person or a family would not override that of the group.

“I have always believed that the interests of an institution must always override those of any individual or family. We will create a robust architecture for tomorrow’s RIL to ensure that it remains a united, well-integrated and secure institution,” Ambani added.

“We have nurtured RIL’s unique institutional culture, due to which every business has been a super-success. Maintaining this institutional culture to achieve perpetual growth is the hardest task before our existing and future leadership teams,” the chairman said.

The succession plan comes on the back of RIL focusing on keeping pace with changes in technology and the demands of future generations.

“This task has become even more challenging because we are living in a time when technological breakthroughs are taking place at an unprecedented pace. For businesses that are agile and disruptive, this era offers unimaginable opportunities for growth and value creation. Others will become stagnant and languish behind,” said Ambani, who has helmed RIL for two decades.

“Therefore, we have to be future-focused, with a firm resolve to make the future much brighter than our today and yesterday. This is why we must continually strengthen the culture and foundation of our institution,” he said.

Ambani said that the three children inherited founder Dhirubhai Ambani’s “pioneering spirit in action”, and he feels “supremely confident” that RIL will have a “better army of leaders”.

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