Mukesh Ambani talks succession for 1st time as RIL chief – Times of India

MUMBAI: In his first statement on succession plans, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday said the younger generation is now ready to take on leadership roles. Speaking at the company’s Family Day function, which marks group founder Dhirubhai Ambani’s birth anniversary, he emphasised that he would like the process to be accelerated.
“We should guide them, enable them, encourage them… and sit back and applaud as they perform better than us,” said Ambani.
Ambani, 64, took over as chairman of RIL after his father’s death in 2002. His three children, Akash, Isha and Anant, have been involved in RIL’s telecom, retail and energy businesses. While none is on the board of RIL, they are directors in the company’s key arms. “I have no doubt that Akash, Isha and Anant, as the next-gen leaders, will lead Reliance to even greater heights. I can see and feel their passion, commitment, and devotion to the cause of Reliance every day. I see in them the same spark and potential that my father had for making a difference to millions of lives and contributing to India’s growth,” he said.

His statement comes ahead of Sebi’s April 2022 deadline to split the chairman and managing director positions in listed companies. While Sebi has extended the timeline for listed entities to comply with its new norm, chairman Ajay Tyagi said on Tuesday, “We have given enough time to the industry for splitting the post of chairman and managing director. I can only make an appeal to the industry to follow it.”
Ambani further said the time has come to lay the foundation for RIL’s future growth by seizing the humongous opportunity. RIL, which started as a textile company, has metamorphosed into a conglomerate with varied business interests whose products touch people’s lives every day.
“We have completely re-engineered our energy business. Now, Reliance is poised to become a global leader in clean and green energy and materials. This transformation of our oldest business will provide us the largest growth engine for Reliance,” he said.
At RIL’s annual shareholder meeting in June this year, Ambani had announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in clean energy over three years as the company moves away from fossil fuels.
On the retail and telecom (Jio) businesses, Ambani said, “In the past one year alone, we have onboarded nearly one million small shopkeepers and created nearly one lakh new employment opportunities. This growth engine will continue to create significant societal value by providing unlimited opportunities for our partners and employees. Jio gained over 120 million subscribers and brought fibre to nearly four million homes and commercial establishments.” He cautioned employees against lowering their guard against coronavirus. While normalcy is slowly returning, it still is clouded by uncertainty, Ambani, also India’s richest man, said.
“As we enter the second half of Reliance’s Golden Decade, I can tell you that the future of our company looks brighter to me than ever before. I can confidently make two predictions. First, India will become one of the top three economies in the world. Second, Reliance will become one of the strongest and most reputed Indian multinational companies in the world.”