Ambani to lead Reliance for five more years, children appointed to board in succession planning

Mukesh Ambani will lead Reliance Industries for five more years and groom and mentor his children for “challenges and opportunities for the future,” as the firm appoints Isha, Akash and Anant as directors of the board, officially kickstarting the succession planning at the $200 billion empire that operates the nation’s largest telecom operator and retail chain.

“Towards this end, I have assigned myself 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. 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,” said Ambani at the company’s annual general meeting Monday.

Reliance separately said Nita, Ambani’s wife, has resigned from the board.

The early signs of the succession planning have been apparent in recent years with 66-year-old Ambani promoting his children to lead many of the empire’s businesses. Akash leads the digital business, Jio Platforms, whereas his twin sister Isha helms Reliance Retail. Anant leads the new energy business.

“Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani have been closely involved with and are leading and managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses,” the company said in a statement.

“They also serve on the boards of the key subsidiaries of RIL. Their appointment to the Board of RIL will enable RIL to gain from their insights and infuse new ideas, the Board opined.”