Nita Ambani steps down from RIL board; Isha, Akash, Anant Ambani appointed as directors

The board of directors of Reliance Industries (RIL) on Monday considered and recommended to the shareholders for approval of appointment of Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani as non-executive directors of the company. Their appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders.

The decision was taken on the recommendation of the Human Resources, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the conglomerate says in a stock exchange filing.

The company's board also accepted the resignation of Nita Ambani from the board "respecting her decision to devote her energies and time to guide and enable Reliance Foundation to make even greater impact for India," it says.

The board of directors appreciated Nita Ambani for her leadership of Reliance Foundation as its founder chairperson. "Over the years, RF has made considerable progress in its mission of nurturing and empowering marginalised and under-resourced communities in India. They lauded Nita Ambani’s request to focus even more on strengthening Reliance Foundation as it embarks on a mission to achieve even greater societal transformation by undertaking a host of new programmes and initiatives," the filing says.

As the chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani will attend all the RIL board meetings as a permanent invitee to the board so that the "company can continue to benefit from her advice."

Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani have been closely involved with and are leading and managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses. They also serve on the boards of the key subsidiaries of RIL. Their appointment to the Board of RIL will enable RIL to gain from their insights and infuse new ideas, the board opines.

Isha Ambani is driving the expansion of Reliance Retail into new categories, geographies and formats and is focused on enhancing the overall customer experience. Reliance Retail has its presence in Food, Consumer Electronics and Fashion Retail and is India's largest retailer by reach, scale, revenue and profitability. Ambani is part of the executive leadership teams as a Member of the Board at Reliance Retail Venture Ltd, Reliance Jio and Reliance Foundation (RF), Reliance Foundation Institution of Education and Research, and Dhirubhai Ambani International School.

Akash Ambani serves as the chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm since June 2022. He was earlier serving as non-executive director on Reliance Jio board since October 2014. He also serves on the Board of Jio Platforms, Reliance Industries' digital services business.

Anant Ambani serves as a director on the boards of Jio Platforms since March 2020, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited since May 2022 and Reliance New Energy Ltd and Reliance New Solar Energy Ltd since June 2021.