The Ambani succession at Reliance isn’t straightforward

Appointing the three children to Reliance’s board is all very well, but deciding on a successor to Mukesh Ambani won’t be easy as the group’s key businesses are in different stages of growth.

T Surendar

At Reliance Industries’ 46th annual general meeting on Monday, chairman Mukesh Ambani made an announcement that has brought India’s largest and most valued company in his family’s control more than ever before. 

Ambani appointed his three children, daughter Isha and sons Akash and Anant, as non-executive directors to the board, taking the number of family members and relatives on the company’s board to six—the most in almost four decades. Meanwhile, his wife, Nita, stepped down. Ambani’s cousins Nikhil and Hital Meswani are already on the board, though the company’s annual reports say they are not related to the promoter-directors. 

Shareholders …