Isha Ambani is set to be named chairman of the Reliance conglomerate’s retail unit in another sign that her father, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is pushing ahead with a plan for succession in one of Asia’s richest families.
An announcement of Isha Ambani’s elevation could come as early as Wednesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified ahead of a formal statement. She is currently the director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.
Isha Ambani’s promotion follows that of her twin brother, Akash Ambani. On Tuesday, the 65-year-old tycoon made way for his son Akash Ambani to become the chairman of India’s No. 1 wireless carrier Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
Isha and Akash have both been part of teams that negotiated Meta Platforms Inc.’s investment in the group.
Isha, 30, is an alumnus of Yale University and a former McKinsey & Co. consultant.
Reliance Retail runs supermarkets, India’s largest consumer electronics chain store, cash and carry wholesaler, fast-fashion outlets, and an online grocery store called JioMart. It reported $2.6 billion in revenue for the year through March 2022. The unit operates more than 12,000 stores across the country.
Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio are subsidiaries of the family’s oil-to-telecom conglomerate, of which the $217 billion Reliance Industries Ltd. is the flagship firm. Mukesh Ambani is chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.