Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries (RIL)
For a college student who pulled out of Stanford University to go back to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and spearhead its expansion into polyester and petrochemicals, setting up its first big manufacturing project in Patalganga in 1983 was a precursor of things to come.
It was an indication that Mukesh D. Ambani, now 65 and Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, was not going to wait for opportunities, but would make them happen and that he would be most at home making big, bold plays.
In the last two decades, under his leadership, RIL has notched up several firsts for an Indian company. It crossed $100 billion in market capitalization in 2007; is one of the nation's largest hydrocarbon players; launched telecom giant Jio, which now has around 400 million subscribers; piloted the world’s largest petroleum refinery; set up Reliance Retail - the country’s largest organized retailer - and became the first Indian company to enter the global Fortune 500 list of corporations.
RPSG Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka says Ambani has "redefined scale, redefined efficiencies, redefined growth."
The driving force behind it all? Business associates and other tycoons who have worked with and know him say Ambani's standout abilities include a mix of audacity, humility, and an eerie sense of where to place the pieces on the business chessboard.
Industrialist Harsh Goenka, who has known Ambani for almost four decades and has also been a neighbour and friend when they lived in Usha Kiran apartments, says that he is the only tycoon he knows who gives him an inferiority complex.
“He sees the future in a way that others don’t,” Goenka says, adding that when he discussed Reliance Jio and his telecom ventures with him a decade ago, one couldn’t fathom what he was driving at.
“Today as it all falls into place, it is obvious how telecom is the backbone that leads to e-commerce, trade and entertainment among many other vital business functions.”
‘Proving Naysayers Wrong’
While most of what Ambani has touched has turned to gold, Goenka notes how in the beginning he did confront setbacks in businesses such as retail where many professionals came and left. There was much talk about how RIL couldn't succeed in a business where the consumer was the judge and regulations had little influence.
“Eventually he got it right and today Reliance Retail is a nation-leading venture, and he has the knack of proving naysayers wrong,” Goenka said.
RIL may fundamentally be an Indian group, but its systems have been geared to be as international as possible.
Jerry Rao, entrepreneur and former head of Citi India, says that he would hear frequently about Mukesh Ambani’s RIL while he was a board member at a vendor company that serviced RIL's refinery business.
"The RFPs (Requests for Proposal) that would come to vendors were driven by processes and systems that were as world-class as any international organization and stood out for being unusual in the context of business that was usually done in India," Rao says.
Management style
While he has been in the public eye for his wealth and business achievements, Ambani generally keeps a low profile where the media is concerned. So what defines Ambani’s personal management style?
Zia Mody, founding partner at law firm AZB & Partners, who has worked closely with Ambani, says: “Mukesh has the unique combination of extremely high IQ and EQ." IQ is short for Intelligence Quotient and EQ for Emotional Quotient.
She goes on to add that he retains the best of certain core Indian traits that include never ever leaving his visitor feeling less than special, and is "charming to the core”.
In addition, Ambani is also credited with the one ability that differentiates great leaders from good ones: focus. “He concentrates fiercely when he has to on any given matter,” Mody adds, emphasizing that he also lays great store by loyalty and respects the intellectual capacity of others.
“In the realm of business discussions, he listens closely to the views of others, processes them and then takes his decision, and is fully accountable to his team for that - all of which clearly establishes him as a global leader.”
His ventures also have one common denominator, says Arundhati Bhattacharya, former State Bank of India chairman, now the country head of Salesforce, and a board member on RIL companies. "His early adoption of technology as the centrepiece of all his initiatives is what drives his success."
Focus on execution
Sanjay Nayar, former Citi India country head and chairman of KKR India, and co-founder of venture firm Sorin Investments, says that three things stand out as he reflects on his association with Ambani over the years.
“There is an amazing humility in the way he’s all yours in a meeting. Second, the level of detailed discussions reflects gleanings from an expansive knowledge base and ecosystem." The third becomes clear when Ambani expounds on strategy at both a macro and micro level.
“It is the relentless focus on execution against a very futuristic looking strategy for all his businesses.”
Nayar adds that it is noteworthy how Reliance today reflects its emergent business philosophy. “Especially on new businesses - their big-ticket goals such as telecoms and now green energy, the driver is of course scale but also democratization of consumption for the masses.”
But most unusual is the fact that despite being on the rich lists, building wealth for himself and his companies’ stakeholders and achieving pole position in the industries he has ventured into, the hunger doesn’t fade.
Goenka, who also knows and has met other top business leaders, says that no one has the kind of inbuilt drive and motivation that Ambani does. “The kick for him is to get into a new exciting venture where he often spends about 80 percent of his time.”
Ambani is also enthused about new business ventures such as life sciences and presently human longevity, and one shouldn’t be surprised to see something substantial emerge there in the future.
Global perspective
At a personal level, Ambani is described as grounded, and hospitable. Goenka notes that Ambani is at the core a warm individual with simple preferences.
“Of course, he partakes in the sit-down seven-course gourmet dining experiences but is very prone to saying: ‘Let's just go grab some chaat or pizza.”
How has his style of leadership changed in the last two decades?
Mody says, "Over the years, his ability to analyse risk, consult more broadly and look at everything from a global perspective has evolved in a far more nuanced, strategic way."
More importantly, it has benefited the profile of India as a country of successful entrepreneurs.
Haigreve Khaitan, managing partner at law firm Khaitan & Co., says: “In a list of visionaries who have propelled India Inc. into the 21st century, Mr Ambani's name is at the very top." He adds: “Having personally worked with him, his ambition and audacious strategy makes for both compelling challenges and exceptional experiences.”
That's key for many reasons. As Rao says, it's important for India as a country to be able to support its homegrown entrepreneurs and business builders much in the same manner that South Korea and Japan did in the past without getting swayed by needless socialist opinions that lean on diluting capitalist growth.
That growth is essentially the fulcrum of driving economic progress in the nation. Examples include world-beaters such as Samsung and Hyundai (South Korea) or Mitsubishi and Matsushita (Japan) which have become global or at least Asian-scale giants that can service countries outside the subcontinent.
Ultimately, achieving a similar position may well be the lasting legacy that Ambani is building towards.
Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.Redefining scale: Two decades of Mukesh Ambani at the helm of Reliance Industries - Moneycontrol
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