In a clear indication that Mukesh Ambani is handing over the reins of Reliance group entities to his children, Akash M Ambani has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Reliance Jio. Mukesh Ambani has resigned as Director of the company with immediate effect.
“The Board of Directors has, at their meeting held on June 27, 2022, noted the resignation of Mr. Mukesh D Ambani as Director of the Company, effective from the close of working hours on June 27, 2022; and approved the appointment of Mr. Akash M Ambani, Non-executive Director as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company,” Reliance Jio said in a filing with the stock exchanges. Pankaj Mohan Pawar, one of Mukesh’s key lieutenants, has been appointed as Managing Director of the Company for a period of five years.
Reliance Industries Chairman is paving the way for the next generation of his family to take over his $300-billion (₹20 lakh crore) business empire. There has been a clear demarcation with daughter Isha running the operations of Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), while son Akash has taken over the telecom and digital arm that falls under Reliance Jio Platforms (RJPL).
BusinessLine had reported the development on May 1. READ HERE
The 30-year-old Akash Ambani has been closely involved with the business from its inception. He was involved in a number of acquisitions made by Jio as well as in the 2020 stake sale. Key acquisitions made under Akash Ambani include the artificial intelligence platform Haptik, American tech company Radisys, mixed reality company Tesseract, and the music streaming company Saavn.
New Frontiers
Reliance Jio Platforms is the technology subsidy of RIL, approximately valued at $100 billion. This includes its crown jewel, Jio, which provides telecommunications and broadband services. Other businesses under the company include Jio Apps, which cover a litany of services including streaming, cinema, music messaging, etc. The company also includes other consumer and enterprise platforms such as JioMart, JioMeet, etc.
Akash Ambani will be leading Reliance Jio Platforms through new frontiers, which include 5G, IPL digital streaming, and the bullish expansion that the enterprise is aiming for in the next decade.