Mumbai: Cousins and heirs of the country’s leading business family, Akash and Jai Anmol, are taking baby steps into the now-divided empire originally founded by their grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani. Both are striding into areas that were the core strengths of Dhirubhai’s sons – their fathers.
Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s elder son Akash Ambani joined Reliance Industries to help launch the corporation’s re-entry in telecommunications with Reliance Jio, while Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani’s son Jai Anmol has joined Reliance Capital. While Akash will be in operations, it’ll be finance for Jai Anmol.
The cousins, both 22, representing the third generation of the Ambanis, are joining their respective businesses at a time when the next big push is needed for both groups, as they chase growth in a frozen economy. Their fathers had entered the business when they were around 24.
Akash, an economics graduate from Brown University, is involved in rolling out Reliance Jio’s complex 4G broadband wireless service offerings, which could redraw the telecommunications landscape. His father did the same more than a decade ago with the launch of Reliance Infocom, now Reliance Communications.
On the other hand, Anil Ambani’s son Jai Anmol, a graduate from UK’s Warwick Business School, has joined Reliance Capital, as he is said to have demonstrated a keen interest in finance. Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh is mentoring Jai Anmol for a bigger role in the Reliance Group,” said a company insider.
The Ambani cousins are joining their father’s business at a time when a host of other business family scions are already learning the ropes in their respective groups. Gautam Adani’s son Karan is helping shape Mundra into a leading global port operator. Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal’s son Agnivesh, is taking care of the metals trading business while his daughter Priya is a non-executive director at Cairn India and handles CSR and branding activities.Â