Full Text Of Mukesh Ambani’s Speech

(Mukesh Ambani continues)

Thank you, Isha. At Reliance, business and philanthropy go hand in hand. Both are inspired by our We Care philosophy that aims to improve lives of our people, so that no Indian is left behind.

11. Institution-Strengthening and Value Creation

All My Most Valued Stakeholders,

I shall conclude with something that is very close to my heart, and is absolutely critical for the ever-expanding growth of Reliance in the decades to come.

Reliance began its journey as a listed company 45 years ago. A single-room office with just two small tables and a shared landline phone in a crowded marketplace in old Mumbai. But our founder, Dhirubhai Ambani, had a mighty big vision and a soaring ambition, and also an indomitable willpower to translate his vision into action, surmounting the stiffest of obstacles that came his way.

Today, Reliance has grown into one of the world’s largest and most valuable business enterprises. Indeed, it has become a feather in India’s cap as a National Institution. But I would like everyone in the Reliance Family to always remember two things:

One – Even when Reliance becomes much bigger in future, which it surely will, it will always carry its founder’s pioneering spirit.

Two – Even when Reliance further expands its global footprint in future, which it surely will, it will proudly retain its Indian soul and Indian identity.

Patriotism inspires and energises everything we do every single day in Reliance.

It has been my personal privilege to have attended every single AGM of Reliance over the past 45 years. This year, 2022, is a happy milestone in my 45-year-long association with Reliance. I complete two decades of serving your company as its Chairman. All of Reliance’s achievements have been on account of the fabulous team of leaders and professionals I have been so fortunate to work with. I remain forever grateful to each and every one of them.

When my senior colleagues and I look back, Reliance’s story reads like an unputdownable book with never-ending chapters of success. Every decade, every year, more and more chapters of achievements are getting added. We have collectively succeeded in growing Reliance from strength to strength only because each one of us in the Leadership Team has internalised Founder’s Mindset.

What do I mean by Founder’s Mindset?

It means working incessantly to preserve and further enrich the Purpose, Philosophy and Passion of Dhirubhai Ambani. I would like to state this philosophy in terms of 10 tenets of building our unique Leadership Capital — now and in future.

First, People Capital – Reliance’s greatest strength is our human assets, not just our financial assets. The greatest value creators are brains, not machines.

Second, Technology and Innovation Capital – In this age of exponential change, mastering latest technologies is not an option. It’s an imperative for survival and disruptive growth.

Third, Capability Capital – Reliance judges its leaders by their expertise to plan, execute, review and improve. Indeed, New India needs leaders whose capability must always exceed the complexity of the problem they are expected to solve.

Fourth, Achievement Capital – Reliance rewards and honours achievers who exceed expectations. Aiming low is not acceptable.

Fifth, Relationship Capital – We fully understand that people are not robots and money is not the sole motivation that drives them to deliver peak performance. Healthy inter-personal relations create happy organisations.

Sixth, Trust Capital – Reliance places highest value on trustworthy people. For organisations as well as individuals, there is no better way to earn respect than to be trustworthy.

Seventh, Co-operation Capital – This means 1+1 becomes 11 when people co-operate and teams collaborate. It’s an integral part of our SOP.

Eighth, Empathy Capital – The world is increasingly coming round to realise that powers of the heart are superior to powers of a cold rational mind. Compassionate Capitalism needs Compassionate Leaders.

Ninth, Integrity Capital – Honesty and uprightness are non-negotiable principles at Reliance.

Tenth, Community Engagement Capital – Lastly, we recognise that serving the community that supports and sustains us is our Corporate Moral Responsibility, not just a legal Corporate Social Responsibility.

By scrupulously following these 10 tenets, we have nurtured Reliance’s unique institutional culture. It’s because of this institutional culture that every business of Reliance has so far been a super-success. Maintaining this institutional culture to achieve perpetual growth is the hardest task before our existing and future leadership teams.

This task has become even more challenging because we are living in a time when technological breakthroughs are taking place at an unprecedented pace. For businesses that are agile and disruptive, this era offers unimaginable opportunities for growth and value creation. Others will become stagnant and languish behind. Therefore, we have to be future-focused, with a firm resolve to make the future much brighter than our today and yesterday. This is why we must continually strengthen the culture and foundation of our institution.

But there is also another, equally important reason, which is compelling us to do so with utmost priority. With the completion of 75 years of freedom, our country will begin its march into the future with bolder and more confident steps. New India is poised to become one of the Top-3 economies in the world, with a size that can be four or five times bigger in the next few decades.

It’s not a question of if, but when. India’s rising prosperity will create almost limitless multi-decade growth opportunities for Reliance. Simultaneously, the developmental aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians are surging explosively. They want to live in a more inclusive India, a more equal India. In short, a better India.

As a result of these two phenomena, New India will have increasingly higher expectations from Reliance. We simply cannot be found wanting. Reliance must quickly, and vastly, increase its contribution to the prosperity of India, and the wellbeing of all Indians.

Being aware of this enormous responsibility and opportunity, our existing leadership and I, under the guidance of the Board of Directors, are going to give our very best over the coming years to enrich Reliance’s Leadership Capital and Institutional Culture. We are creating an operating model for all our businesses that will create value in perpetuity.

Dear Shareholders,

At a time when a bright future is beckoning Reliance, what gives me optimism is our huge reservoir of young, dynamic and best-in-class talent. Our next-gen leaders are confidently taking over the reins across businesses.

Akash and Isha have assumed leadership roles in Jio and Retail respectively. They have been passionately involved in our consumer businesses since inception. Anant has also joined our New Energy business with great zeal. In fact, he is spending most of his time in Jamnagar.

All three have fully inherited our Founder’s Mindset. They are First Among Equals in a young team of leaders and professionals who are already doing amazing things at Reliance. Of course, all of them are being mentored on a daily basis by our senior leaders, including myself and the Board of Directors.

And let me add here that Reliance is forever hungry for top-notch talent from India and around the world. We invite them with an assurance that they will enjoy the finest work environment in the world, so that they can develop their innate potential in an unconstrained way. We already have professionals representing over 60 nationalities, and this pool of young talent will become even larger and deeper as our businesses become bigger and more global.

All our next-gen leaders are determined, focused, and are brimming with fresh ideas and creativity. They think big, and they think fast. They have the courage to dream, as well as the ability to execute them. Above all, they have humility, empathy, and they care.

When I see them, I see Dhirubhai Ambani’s pioneering spirit in action. Therefore, I feel supremely confident that tomorrow’s Reliance will have a better army of leaders, as should happen in any dynamic organisation that empowers its young leaders. Together, they will script newer and more exciting chapters in Reliance’s never-ending book of achievements.

I now call upon you to extend your blessings and best wishes to all the hundreds of young leaders of Reliance, including Isha, Akash and Anant.

Dear Stakeholders,

I have always believed that the interests of an institution must always override those of any individual or family.

Keeping this in mind, we will create a robust architecture for tomorrow’s Reliance to ensure that it remains a united, well-integrated and secure institution even as we develop our existing businesses and add new growth engines. This architecture will maximise the synergies among all our existing and new businesses.

We have already put in place a fail-safe governance system to ensure accountability at all levels. We will keep on improving this system on a continuous basis to protect the interests of all our stakeholders.

Therefore, even as I continue to provide hands-on leadership to your company as before, my existing team of leaders and I, along with our Board of Directors, will dedicate ourselves to making Reliance more robust, more resilient, more purpose-driven, and truly future-ready, so that, in the near term, Reliance more than doubles its value by the end of its Golden Decade in 2027, and thereafter continues to grow ever more rapidly.

This is my solemn commitment to all of you and I would like you to judge me and my existing and new leadership team by our performance. In this noble mission of Reliance to serve India and Humanity, I seek Lord Krishna’s blessings and your continued support.

12. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Central and State Governments, shareholders, investors, JV partners, lenders, suppliers and customers for their consistent and resolute support. I thank all my colleagues on the Board for their oversight in this crucial phase of our growth, their support, and immense encouragement. I have special words to acknowledge the collective efforts of the entire Reliance team, working tirelessly to create and sustain a world-class enterprise.

Thank you!