Anant Ambani faces resistance from two advisory firms over Reliance board seat

Two advisory firms have recommended shareholders to vote against the proposal to appoint Anant Ambani, youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, to the Reliance Industries board. Both, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS), an international proxy advisory firm, and Mumbai-based Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IIAS), have cited Anant Ambani’s age as the reason to not back his appointment.

ISS said in a note dated October 12 that the youngest Ambani’s “limited leadership/board experience of around six years” warrants a vote against this resolution, as mentioned in a report by Bloomberg that accessed the note. IIS has backed the board appointments of his elder siblings Isha and Akash Ambani.

Before ISS, IIAS had said in an October 9 report at 28 years of age, Anant Ambani’s appointment does not align with the voting guidelines. IIAS also supported the proposals seeking the appointment of Akash and Isha Ambani.

The report stated that Reliance told the proxy companies that Anant has the “relevant experience and maturity to add value to the board deliberations” given his participation in the businesses of the conglomerate as well as the grooming he has received from senior leadership over the years.

Another proxy firm, Glass Lewis, is in favour of Anant Ambani’s appointment. Glass Lewis director Decky Windarto said that they are not singling out Anant Ambani based on his experience. The other two directors who are just three years older than Anant Ambani with similar professional experiences are up for election, said Glass Lewis.

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The shareholder vote that will close on October 26 is crucial to the succession plan of Mukesh Ambani. At the recent annual general meeting, Ambani announced the appointment of his three children, Isha, Akash and Anant, to the board of the group as non-executive directors, conditional on the approval of the shareholders.

Ambani had said that he would mentor his three children "so that they can provide collective leadership". "I shall continue to perform my duties and responsibilities as Chairman and Managing Director for five more years, with greater vigour," he said at the AGM.

Last year, Akash Ambani was named the Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm. Isha, an executive director at Reliance's retail arm, is driving its expansion plans, and Anant is involved in the new energy business.

Also read: Behind Mukesh Ambani's big succession plan at Reliance

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