Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani expressed confidence in the company’s future and asserted the group’s potential to rank among the world’s top 10 business conglomerates.
Ambani emphasised that Reliance Industries, which operates the world’s largest single-location oil refining complex and telecom networks across India, will never be complacent and will continue to disrupt markets.
“We are known for disrupting the market through constant innovation and reinvention. We have shown the courage to set the bar high and the ability to jump even higher to create new records,” Ambani said, addressing employees on Reliance Family Day, the birthday of group founder Dhirubhai Ambani.
He added that his oil-chemicals-telecom conglomerate is aiming to secure its place among global leaders in digital data platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
“As India races ahead to become the world’s third-largest economy, an unprecedented opportunity awaits Reliance. Reliance can …. and Reliance will … grow to be among the Top 10 business conglomerates of the world. For this, we need to be laser-focused on three things,” he said.
Reliance started as a small textile manufacturing unit in Mumbai but then ventured into the petrochemical sector to provide feedstock for textiles, ultimately becoming the nation’s largest producer. Subsequently, it set up the largest oil refinery in the country and then expanded it to the world’s biggest single-location refining complex.
In 2005, it entered the retail sector and is now the largest operator of grocery stores, hypermarkets, and online retail in the country. In 2016, it launched the telecom service Jio, which quickly became the largest operator in India and the third largest in the world.
Today, Reliance is building giga-scale factories for new energy businesses and has also forayed into financial services.
Today, Reliance is building massive factories for new energy ventures and has also ventured into financial services.
“We have shown the courage to set the bar high and the ability to jump even higher to create new records. This is how Reliance has achieved perennial growth,” Ambani said.
On artificial intelligence (AI), Ambani said Reliance Industries must “boldly embrace data and AI to become better at decision-making and resource utilisation.”
“We need to be at the forefront of using data, with AI as an enabler for achieving a quantum jump in productivity and efficiency,” he said, adding that growth engines of Reliance – digital services, green and bio-energy, retail and consumer brands, O2C (oil-to ) and materials business, and health and life sciences — will have to complete this transformation by next year.
Reliance is India’s largest corporation by revenue, profit and market value.
Ambani asked employees to be ‘laser-focused’ on providing extreme value to customers through collaboration and systems improvement. “In the coming years, we must continue to strive even harder to develop products and services that no one has created ever before,” he said.
At the same time, the company’s actions must always win community trust, he said, adding that the group must continuously enrich competencies and capabilities.
“When all our businesses grow exponentially, we can contribute more to India’s inclusive prosperity and make the world a better place,” he said.
Ambani said his three key messages for the New Year are to consolidate Reliance’s place among global leaders in digital data platforms and AI adoption, consolidate its place among global leaders in talent enrichment, and secure its place among global leaders in institutional culture.
“As Reliance reinvents itself to become a unique new-age technology company, we need to boldly embrace data and AI to become better at decision-making and resource utilisation.
“In the era of digital platforms, data has become a new factor of production along with talent and money. We need to be at the forefront of using data, with AI as an enabler for achieving a quantum jump in productivity and efficiency,” he said.
All growth engines of Reliance -- digital services, green and bio-energy, retail and consumer brands, oil-to-chemicals (O2C) and materials business, and health and life sciences -- will have to complete this transformation by next year, he said.
“Furthermore, we should accelerate our efforts to become a pioneer in developing AI to address, at scale, India’s urgent national priorities in education, healthcare, agriculture, and employment creation,” he said.
To make Reliance an AI-immersive tech company, it needs to build the necessary talent, skill sets and competencies at all levels within the organisation, Ambani said. “We should expand and deepen our talent pool to be amongst the best in the world. Investment in talent brings higher returns than investment in machines,” he added.
On institutional culture, Ambani said the most important tenet of Reliance’s culture is to work with the founder’s mindset. “It means working with the ownership mindset.”
“Each and every one of you become an owner of Reliance when you own the founder’s purpose and passion,” he told employees.
For the younger generation joining the business, Ambani said, “Young leaders will commit mistakes. That’s for sure...But my advice to them is simple: Do not waste your energy on conducting a post-mortem on past mistakes. Rather, learn not to repeat the same mistakes.” Ambani said Reliance must be forever kept young by ensuring that the average age of all teams remains in the 30s.
He also advised the employees to “be bold, courageous and adventurous in pursuing your present and future goals.”
“Let me reiterate: The future of Reliance belongs to Akash, Isha, Anant and their generation,” he said, referring to his three children and also mentioning that at a time when Reliance is undergoing a Generational Transition, “I attach immense importance to further strengthening this unique Institutional Culture.”
Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
(With inputs from agencies)
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