Mukesh Ambani appoints all three children to Reliance board

Mumbai: Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani began executing a succession plan for his energy-to-technology conglomerate Reliance Industries, appointing his three children Isha, Akash, and Anant to the board of the company on Monday.

Till now, the three children were involved only at operating business-level and none were on the board of India’s largest listed company.

The board of Reliance met ahead of the company’s annual general meeting to approve the appointment of twins Isha and Akash as well as Anant, as the “non-executive directors of the company,” the firm said in a stock exchange filing.

Last year, the 66-year-old tycoon had made way for his first-born Akash Ambani to become the chairman of India’s largest mobile firm, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Jio Infocomm is a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, in which Meta and Google hold stakes and is still chaired by Mukesh. Reliance Industries Ltd is the parent of Jio Platforms.

Akash’s twin sister, Isha, 31, was identified for Reliance’s retail arm and the youngest sibling Anant for the new energy business. The siblings have been on the board of the operating companies but this is the first time they have been appointed on the board of the parent firm.

In a statement, Reliance said their “appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders.”

Reliance is seeking a shareholder nod for giving Mukesh another five-year term till April 2029. His wife Nita was a director on the company board but she has resigned to make way for the children.

“The Board of Directors also accepted the resignation of Nita Ambani from the Board respecting her decision to devote her energies and time to guide and enable Reliance Foundation to make an even greater impact for India,” the statement said.

US Ivy League university-educated Ambani scions have in the last few years been groomed for leadership positions at Reliance’s three units — oil to chemicals, telecoms and retail.

While retail and digital services are housed in separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, the oil-to-chemical or O2C business is a functional division of Reliance. The new energy business is also with the parent firm.

The three businesses are almost equal in size.

While Akash and Isha, who is married to Anand Piramal (son of Piramal Group’s Ajay and Swati Piramal), have been both active in the group’s new-age businesses of retail and telecom, Anant has been involved in the renewable energy and oil and chemical units of Reliance as a director.

The announcement is a clear sign that Mukesh, who was embroiled in a bitter inheritance dispute with his younger brother after their father Dhirubhai died in 2002 without a will, is preparing to handover the baton to his children in the future.

Mukesh and his brother Anil fought a bitter battle for control of Reliance Industries. After a protracted public spat, their mother brokered the split in 2005; Mukesh took oil and petrochemicals, while Anil got telecommunications, power, and financial business among other units.

But their fortunes diverged - while Mukesh rose to become the richest Asian, Anil pleaded “zero” net worth to a London court in 2020.

The brothers, however, seemed to have reached a detente in recent years: in 2019 Mukesh helped Anil to make a $77 million payment that allowed him to escape jail.