Speaking to business leaders in 2016, India’s then richest man and chair of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani revealed a maxim from the company’s founder, his father Dhirubhai: “Always keep the average age of Reliance at 30.”
On Tuesday, a 30-year-old Ambani took centre stage. Mukesh’s eldest son Akash became chair and replaced him on the board of Reliance Jio Infocomm, the unit which transformed India’s digital economy by launching a super cheap mobile data service in 2016. Mukesh, 65, remains chair of parent company Jio Platforms, which US tech giants Meta and Google have substantial stakes in.
Akash’s elevation kicked off a carefully planned transition of power to Mukesh’s three children, ushering the third generation into leadership roles at the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate he has grown into India’s largest listed company. Investors appeared relieved to see an orderly transition beginning — shares in the $221bn company rose 2.5 per cent on Tuesday.