India's Reliance appoints Ambani children to company board
Last updated on: 28 August,2023 02:48 pm
His net worth currently stands at $95.4bn
BENGALURU (Web Desk) – India's Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday appointed Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani, the three children of chairman Mukesh Ambani, as directors to the board of the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, Reuters reported.
The announcement came as Reliance is holding its annual general meeting with shareholders.
Ambani has previously said his children would have significant roles in the business and that Reliance was "in the process of effecting a momentous leadership transition", according to Reuters.
Reliance also said that Nita Ambani, wife of Ambani and mother of the three children, has stepped down from the board, without giving a reason.
The announcement flags the long-anticipated leadership transition at India's largest private sector firm.
Addressing the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries, Ambani said the ongoing AI revolution was profoundly transforming “our surroundings”.
“Jio Platforms aims to take the forefront in crafting AI models tailored for India and delivering AI-driven solutions across various sectors, ultimately extending the advantages of AI to the Indian populace, enterprises, and government.”
He added that India had scale, data and talent “but we also need AI-ready digital infrastructure that can handle AI's immense computational demands.”
With a net worth of $95.4 billion, Ambani is the 13th richest person in the world, says Forbes, thus making him the wealthiest in India.
He chairs and runs $110 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom and retail.
Reliance was founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, a yarn trader, in 1966 as a small textile manufacturer. After his father's death in 2002, Ambani and his younger sibling Anil divvied up the family empire.
Reliance's telecom and broadband service Jio has close to 450 million subscribers. In August 2023, Reliance listed its finance arm, Jio Financial Services.
Ambani is pivoting Reliance into green energy. The company will be investing $80bn over the next 10-15 years on renewable energy and building a new complex next to its refinery.
He has spelled out his succession plan: son Akash is now chairman of Reliance Jio; daughter Isha oversees retail and financial services, and younger son Anant is in the new energy business.