the people who run reliance industries

7/29/2019 The People Who Run Reliance Industries

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The People Who Run Reliance Industries

The Reliance Industries stock has hit a 52-week high on strong results and a

more amiable government stance on its gas project. There are still issues, like the

4G rollout. Himangshu Watts and Sabarinath M go behind the storylines to tracethe people in chargeformally and informallyof taking the Rs 3,39,792 cr

company to the next level

The Ultimate LeadersFor all their generals and lieutenants in Reliance, the direction comes from these three. And, at

times, their involvement can be totally hands-on

Mukesh

AMBANI

CHAIRMAN

Mukesh Ambani can spends hours watching leopards in a jungleand he has adopted sometricks from the sleek predators trade. It doesnt take any risk. Whenever it sees it can make akill, it rapidly makes the kill. It happens in a flash, he once told ET. There was stealth andsurprise aplenty when he bought a licence for 4G services, or became a significant shareholder inEast India Hotels, or when wife Nita took charge of the glamorous Mumbai Indians cricket

franchise. A formidable team helps Mukeshmake such decisions and, more importantly, follow

through to steer the colossal, and complex, empire that he inherited from his legendary father

Dhirubhai Ambani to new heights. In that team are family and friends, old aides and newprofessionals, business heads and environment managers. Depending on what the situationdemands, this collective can offer street-smart solutions, clairvoyant market insights and

hardcore professionalism. Nita AMBANI

The only woman in the top set, Mukeshs wife is called bhabhi by one and all. Although she isbest known as the woman who turned around the Mumbai Indians cricket franchise , Nita plays alarger role in RIL than is widely perceived. When brothers Mukesh and Anil were involved in a

bitter fight for the Reliance empire, it was said that one of Anils grouses was that Nita, AnandJain and Manoj Modi mattered more in the company than him. Nita played a key role in RILsdecision in 2010 to buy 14.8% in East India Hotels, where she is now on the board of the

company along with Manoj Modi. She has also been involved in RILs retail operations. Nitamade her mark as part of the team that built the Jamnagar refinery, particularly her initiative to

transform the arid zone into a green belt with mango plantations. She is also the founder-

chairperson of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School and is actively involved in the

Reliance Foundation. A gracious host, Nita throws lavish parties at the new Ambani residence,

Antillia, where politicians, cricketers and Bollywood stars rub shoulders. Manoj MODIHis visiting card carries no designation. He does not officially head any business. And hes noton the board. Yet, Modi is an inseparable part of every big move RIL makes and has a say in

pretty much each of its businesses. There is no designated CEO at RIL, but if there were to beone, Manoj Modi55, Mukeshs classmate from engineering collegewould be the man. MM,as he is called, is a hands-on, serial builder of large projects for Reliance: the Hazira

petrochemical complex, the Jamnagar refinery, the first telecom business, Reliance Retail and,now, the 4G rollout. He won Mukeshs confidence with his execution of the Jamnagar refinery


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when he refined the art of dealing with vendors and contractors, often in an aggressive language.

Modi sees himself as a loyal lieutenant of Mukesh, and will growl or pounce on anybody who

dares to go against the boss. Despite the turbulence in retail and 4G, Modis star in RIL shinesthe brightest.

The Core Team

These trusty hands drive eitheroperations or functions

Nikhil Meswani

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The elder son of Dhirubhai Ambanis cousin Rasiklal Meswani joined RIL in 1986 and has beenon its board since 1988. He is primarily responsible for petrochemicals and taking RIL to the top

10 in this sector globally. He holds about 279,000 shares in RIL. Nikhil and brother Hital each

took home a salary of Rs 11 crore in 2010-11, the most after Mukesh.

Hital Meswani

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORNikhils younger brother joined RIL in 1990 and has been on its board since 1995. He owns

212,000 RIL shares. He has executed several mega projects, including the Hazira petrochemicalsand Jamnagar refinery complexes. This soft-spoken Wharton graduate oversees the refinery and

all other manufacturing units.

PMS Prasad

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORAmong those outside the Ambani kin, Prasad is perhaps the most influential. He joined RIL in

the late 70s and has risen to drive its cash cowsrefining and exploration. He headed the teamthat set up the Jamnagar refinery complex in 1999, and under his leadership, RIL made thebiggest gas discovery in 2002. Prasad went through a rough patch during the government

inquisitions on its trophy gas block. He has since bounced back, with the oil ministry shedding

its radioactive approach towards RIL. His sophisticated style is a contrast to the street-smart

interventions of Manoj Modi.

Alok Aggarwal HEADFINANCEAggarwal manages RILs cash pile of $15 billion. An IIM graduate and a former BankAmexecutive, he has an uncanny knack of raising funds even in a bad market. This conservativebanker is also focused more on global risk-management.

LV Merchant

FINANCIAL CONTROLLERAn expert in paperwork, accounting & processes, he also has a role in promoter firms that hold

RIL shares.

Harish Shah

PRESIDENTInvolved in budgeting, financial planning, back-office operations and sensitive cash matters

PK Kapil EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Joined in 1996, after a long career in IOC, to lead the commissioning of the Jamnagar refinery.

Became a director in May 2010. Known for his earthy and amiable style.

The Environment Managers

They silently work the corridors of power for Reliance

V Balasubramanium

GROUP PRESIDENT


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Balu, as he is called, was a part of the original ABCD of RIL: Ambani, Balu, Chaturvedi,Dhirubhai. He was a top aide and fixer for Dhirubhai. He has retained considerable clout under

Mukesh, but is no longer the one-man army he used to be. Chaturvedi, Nathwani and Nahatahave moved up the ranks in government lobbying. Balus clout has also diminished because ofthe decline in the number of south Indians in the bureaucracy.

Mahendra NahataBUSINESS PARTNER IN 4GA key person in RILs telecom charge, he wields influence in Delhi. Helped RIL build bridgeswith Kapil Sibal, Mulayam Singh Yadav and the finance ministry. Called the track-2 Balu:unlike Balu, whose approach is you are with me or against me, Nahata has a persuasive style

Shalin Tandon

VICE-PRESIDENT

Son of Sandeep Tandonthe former IRS official who probed RIL in the 1980S and then joinedit. A trusted aide in international matters.

Rajesh Chaturvedi

AUDITOR

Regarded as the new Sandeep Tandon. The son of former RIL strongman DN Chaturvedi(Dhirubhais CFO) liaises in Delhi on taxation, customs and excise

Parimal Nathwani

GROUP PRESIDENTThe key hand in RILs political liaison. Has grown in stature after showing his clout in Gujarat,where most RIL plants are located. Folklore has it that a CBI director was once declined a room

at the Circuit House in Dwarka, in spite of a booking, as Nathwani was given preference.

OLD FRIEND & CONFIDANTE

Anand JainOnce in the same league as Modi, and called Dhirubhais third son, Jain is no longer activelyinvolved. Mukesh and he remain friends: they holiday together and Jain even drops in at

Reliance HQ.

The Support CastThese are executives, with formal titles and roles, and can be found in the organisation chart

V Srikanth CFOAfter 20 years in Citigroup, during which he became country treasurer, he moved to RIL in

2010. A chartered accountant in his mid-40s, he handles the companys voluminous treasuryoperations and is being groomed for bigger responsibilities.

Vivek Paranjpe HEADHRHe left H-P to return to RIL in 2010 to replace the late VV Bhatt, who brought public sector

managers. The mandate for Paranjpe, who had an earlier 10-year stint at RIL, is to hire and

groom global managers.

Navin Wadhwani

HEAD

M&A

An investment banker of 20 years, Wadhwani is setting up a dedicated M&A team that will scout

for acquisitions.

Atul Dayal

HEAD-LEGAL

His able handling of the legal issues RIL has faced lately, including arbitration in the KGD6block, has gone down well.


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B Srinivasan EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT to Mukesh AmbaniThe Stanford-educated executive is involved in the teams that incubate businesses in the

chairmans office before being carved out. Also liases with the press and the corporatecommunications team

The Business Runners

The heads and key executives of the four businesses are mostly professionals, including manyexpats Oil & Gas Walter Van De VijverPRESIDENT & CEO, Reliance Exploration and Production

Shells former exploration head has piloted three shale-gas acquisitionsBK Ganguly VICE-CHAIRMAN, India Gas SolutionsInvolved in D6 gas pricing, he looks at the gas distribution JV with BP

PK Verma HEAD OF OPERATIONS, KG D6

The ex-ONGC man handled the western offshore fields before K-G Basin

Tony Fountain CEO, Refining25 years at BP, highest-paid British civil servant, he joined last January Petrochem Warren

Wilder HEAD, Polymers

Former head of Malaysia-based Titan Chemicals, his mandate is to expand the global footprint ofthe polymer business

RD Udeshi PRESIDENT, Polyester

Played a major role in the early 90s, when RIL bought to build capacity

Ajay Shah BUSINESS HEAD, ChemicalsThis IIT Kanpur grad learnt the ropes of the chemical business at Nocil

Anand M Parekh BUSINESS HEAD, Textiles

Came in 2007 from Arvind Mills and led the Vimal brand repositioning Retail Pankaj

Pawar VICE-PRESIDENT

Once an executive assistant to Manoj Modi, he runs the retail show

Rob Cissell CEO, Value-Format

RIL lured him from Walmart China in September 2011 to crack retail

Shawn Grey COO, Value-Format

Cissell brought along Grey, who has spent 13 years in Walmart China

Bijou Kurien PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVELifestyleAt Titan, he built brands like Titan, Fastrack, Sonata and Tanishq

Darshan Mehta PRESIDENT & CEO, Reliance Brands

The apparel industry veteran has sewed up many brand partnerships

Brian Bade CHIEF EXECUTIVE, Reliance Digital

Heads retailing of consumer durables and electronics, and Apple iStore

Gopalakrishnan Sankar

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, Reliance FootprintThe IIM-A grad heads footwear retailing, home decor and furnishings Telecom Jyotindra

Thacker HEAD OF IT & MEMBER of 4G team

Relative of Manoj Modi, he heads IT systems and think-tank for 4G

Kiran Thomas VICE-PRESIDENTWorks closely with Manoj Modi on new projects

Mathew Oommen PRESIDENT

Held key positions in Reliance Infocomm & Flag Telecom before leaving. Now, he worksclosely with Thomas on consumer and handset strategy


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the people who run reliance industries

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