Ambani’s youngest son, Anant, faces proxy firms’ pushback on board seat
Reliance Industries (RIL), underscoring concerns around succession planning at India’s largest company by market value. “A vote against this resolution is warranted as Anant Ambani’s limited leadership/board experience of around six years, raises concerns on his potential contribution to the board," ISS said in an October 12 note, which it shared with Bloomberg.
It has backed the board appointments of his twin-elder siblings, Isha and Akash Ambani — both 31 — in the shareholder vote that will close on October 26. Anant is 28 years old.
ISS’s objections echo the recommendations from Mumbai-based Institutional Investor Advisory Services, or IIAS, which said in an October 9 report, that “at 28 years of age," appointment of the young Ambani scion “does not align with our voting guidelines." IIAS has supported the proposals seeking to elect Isha and Akash. Reliance did not respond to Bloomberg’s queries but told the proxy companies that Anant has “the relevant experience and maturity to add value to the board deliberations" given his participation in the conglomerate’s businesses and the grooming he has received from senior leadership over the years.
Both ISS and IIAS added Reliance’s response to their reports. Another international proxy firm, Glass Lewis, is in favor of Anant’s appointment.
“We do not single out Anant Ambani from the other siblings based on experience," Decky Windarto, Glass Lewis’s director of Asia-Pacific Research, said in an emailed response. “We noted that the other two directors up for election are just three years older than Anant, with similar professional experiences." While the induction of Anant and his siblings as non-executive, non-independent directors, is critical to the succession plan
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