Status in Company: Founder and Chairman, Reliance Group
Names of major Companies: Reliance Industries Limited, Reliance Petroleum Limited. These are India's top two private sector companies.
Description of Group's Business: Reliance Group is India's largest business house with total revenues of Rs 60,000 crores (US$ 12.5 billion), cash flow of over Rs 7,000 crores (US$ 1.4 billion), net profit of over Rs 4,500 crores (US$ 950 million) and exports of Rs 9,370 crores (US$ 2 billion). The Group has total assets of Rs 55,000 crores (US$ 11.5 billion). The group's activities span petrochemicals, synthetic fibres, fibre intermediates, textiles, oil & gas, financial services, refining & marketing, power, insurance, telecom and infocom initiatives. Reliance emerged as India's Most Admired Business House in a Taylor Nelson Sofres - Mode (TNS-Mode) survey for 2001 conducted for Business Barons magazine, June 2001.
Directorships: Chairman: Reliance Industries Ltd. & Reliance Petroleum Ltd.
Birthplace: Chorwad, village in Saurashtra (Gujarat), India
Date of Birth: December 28, 1932
Father's Name: Hirachand Govardhandas Ambani
Mother's Name: Jamunaben Hirachand Ambani
Career: At the age of 17 went to Aden (now part of Yemen) and worked for A. Besse & Co. Ltd., the sole selling distributor of Shell products.
In the year 1958 returned to Mumbai and started his first company, Reliance Commercial Corporation, a commodity trading and export house.
In the year 1966, as a first step in Reliance's highly successful strategy of backward integration, he started the textile mill in Naroda, Ahmedabad.
In the year 1975, a technical team from the World Bank certified that the Reliance textile plant was "excellent by developed country standards."
In the year 1977, the company went public.
Credited with a number of financial innovations in the Indian capital markets. Today, the Reliance Group has one of the largest family of shareholders in the world. With an investment of over Rs.36,000 crores (US$ 9 billion) in petroleum refining, petrochemicals, power generation, telecommunication services and a port terminal in a three-year time frame, has steered the Reliance Group to its current status as India's leading textiles-petroleum-petrochemicals-power-telecom player.
Achievements: Conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by India HRD Congress, February 2002.
Conferred The Economic Times Award for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime Achievement, August 2001.
Thrice rated as one of 'India's Most Admired CEOs' in the Business Barons-Taylor Nelson Sofres-Mode survey, June 2001, 2000 and 1999.
Felicitated by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai with a citation at a civic address and civic reception, December 2000.
Conferred the 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation and Chemical Engineering World in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the chemical industry in India, November 2000.
Conferred the 'Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century' award by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries), for his meticulous scripting of one of the most remarkable stories of business endeavour of the 20th century, March 2000.
Thrice (2000, 1998 and 1996) nominated as one of the 'Power 50 - the most powerful people in Asia' by Asiaweek magazine.
Voted as the most admired Indian of the millennium in the field of Business & Economics in 'Legends - A Celebration of Excellence' poll audited by Ernst & Young for Zee Network, January 2000. Voted as 'Creator of Wealth' of the Century in The Times of India poll, January 2000. Chosen as one of the three 'makers of equity' by India Today in their special millennium issue entitled '100 People Who Shaped India in the 20th Century', January 2000.
Chosen by the Indian Merchants Chamber as "An Outstanding Visionary of the 20th Century" in recognition of his unique achievements and contribution in the development of industry and capital markets in India, December 1999. Voted as 'Indian Businessman of the Century' in Business Barons Global Multimedia Poll, December 1999. Amongst 'The Power 50 - India's 50 most powerful decision-makers in Politics, Business & Finance', Business Barons, August 1999.
Declared 'Most Admired Indian Business Leader' by The Times of India, Indiatimes.com poll, July 1999. The only Indian industrialist in 'Business Hall of Fame' in Asiaweek, October 1998. Awarded the Dean's Medal by The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for setting an outstanding example of leadership, June 1998.
Chosen as a Star of Asia by Business Week, USA, June 1998. Leading business magazine Business Barons placed him in its list of 'India's 25 Most Influential Business and Financial Leaders', June 1998.
Awarded the Companion Membership of the Textile Institute, UK, an award which is limited to 50 living members who have "substantially advanced the general interests of the industries based on fibres", 1994. Chosen 'Businessman of the Year 1993', Business India, January 1994.
Marital Status: Married to Kokilaben, has four children: two sons, Mukesh, who is Vice-Chairman & Managing Director and Anil, Managing Director of Reliance Industries and two daughters, Dipti Salgaocar who lives in Goa and Nina Kothari, who resides in Chennai.
Business address: Maker Chambers IV, 222, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. (India)
Telephone: Office (+91 22) 287 3655
Telefax: (+91 22) 285 6503
E-mail: ccd@ril.com

Back