Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) on January 30 announced it has inducted group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla's daughter Ananya Birla and son Aryaman Vikram Birla as directors on the company's board.
The board believes that Ananya and Aryaman, who come with "rich and varied experience" straddling entrepreneurship and business building, will "benefit ABFRL with their new-age insights and business acumen", a release stated.
Both of them, considered to be the next-generation leaders of the $60 billion global conglomerate, were recently also appointed as directors on the board of Aditya Birla Management Corporation -- the apex body that provides strategic direction to the Aditya Birla Group’s businesses.
"Ananya and Aryaman’s exceptional individual achievements in their chosen fields and early success with their independent entrepreneurial ventures set them up well for larger responsibilities," Kumar Mangalam Birla said, as he hinted towards the elevation of the next-gen leaders.
"Their nuanced understanding of new-age business models and emerging shifts in consumer behaviour will infuse fresh energy to the board of ABFRL," he added.
Also Read | Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail to open Galeries Lafayette stores in India
Ananya, who has made a mark for herself as a platinum selling artist, started her first company, Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd, at the age of 17. The firm is amongst India's fastest growing microfinance institutions. It has crossed an asset under management of USD 1 billion, and has grown at a CAGR of 120 percent (2015-2022), the release said.
She is also the founder of Ikai Asai, a design-led home decor brand, and Mpower, an organisation that advocates the need for conversations around mental health in India.
Aryaman, who was a first-class cricketer, comes with "diverse experience which includes, entrepreneurship, VC investing", the release said.
He has been involved in Aditya Birla Group's "foray into new-age businesses", and "helped incubate the group’s D2C platform, TMRW, and is a director on its board". Aryaman is also spearheading the group’s venture capital fund, Aditya Birla Ventures.
