'Future of Reliance looks brighter than ever before': Mukesh Ambani at RFD event

This year marked the 89th birth anniversary of the late founder of the Reliance Group.

The Reliance CMD described the conglomerate's contemporary period as its "golden decade", and went on to draw parallels with 1990s when Dhirubhai Ambani had laid a strong foundation for its growth.

"To seize this humongous opportunity, now is the time to lay the foundation for Reliance’s future growth over the coming decades… just as Dhirubhai had laid a robust foundation for today’s Reliance at the beginning of the 1990s," he said.

Ambani further pointed out Reliance has stood apart in its performance despite the challenging period marked by the onset of COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have completely re-engineered our energy business," he said, adding that now Reliance is "poised to become a global leader in clean and green energy and materials".

Reliance Retail has revolutionised organised retail in India, Ambani said, adding that in the past one year alone, "we have onboarded nearly one million small shopkeepers and created nearly one lakh new employment opportunities".

Commenting on the success of RIL's telecom arm, Ambani said Jio has gained "over 120 million subscribers and brought fibre to nearly 4 million homes and commercial establishments". It has laid the foundation for making India the "world’s premier digital society", he added.

Ambani also lauded the charitable work done by the company's non-profit arm Reliance Foundation, which is led by his wife Nita Ambani.

"The doctors and nurses at our Reliance Foundation Hospital risked their lives to save others. When Covid patients were in dire need of oxygen, our engineers in Jamnagar made Reliance India's largest producer of medical grade liquid oxygen," he said.

These contributions have earned Reliance widespread admiration and respect, he added.

While listing the company's successes, Ambani also noted that it is imperative to build an organisational culture capable of translating the oncoming opportunities into reality. "We must never become complacent of what we have achieved in the past."

"Companies that become laid-back because of their previous achievements become footnotes in a history book," he said.

On the other hand, only those striving for "perpetual growth through constant renewal and re-invention; perennial paranoia for improving capability and competency; and for always upping their game" will become the subject of an "entire and forever unfinished book", he said.

"This is the only way for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders to earn the right to call themselves the true inheritors of the legacy of Dhirubhai Ambani," Ambani stressed.

Before concluding his address, Ambani, 64, noted that the company is in the process of effecting a "momentous leadership transition".

"All seniors, myself included, should now yield to the highly competent, extremely committed and incredibly promising young leadership talent at Reliance," he added.

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