HEIR& GRACE
With the world at her feet, Isha Ambani is part of India’s tech reincarnation. By Rey-Hanna Vakili. Styled by Michelle Loreto. Photographed by Max Papendieck.
With the world at her feet, Isha Ambani is part of India’s tech reincarnation.
Who is Isha Ambani? At first glance, she’s a beautiful Indian heiress who attends international society events in custom-designed Dior gowns. Dig deeper and you see she is gracious, generous, articulate and level-headed. The Yale graduate is the only daughter of Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, and the heiress to India’s largest private sector company, Reliance Industry Limited (RIL).
Isha Ambani, 25, holds India’s future in her hands. Currently pursuing an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, she is also on the board of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail. She displays a single-minded focus when it comes to what she calls her dharma: her duty towards her family and country. “All my life, I’ve seen my family dedicate themselves to growing Reliance and improving quality of life for all Indians. I feel a sense of responsibility towards the company and my country. I truly believe that helping to grow Reliance is my dharma.”
Has this calling always been so apparent? “There was a time when I wanted to be a teacher!” she confesses. “But I have always known I would be involved with Reliance in some capacity.” She attributes the clarity of her ambitions to her upbringing. “My parents raised me with very traditional values, and it was ingrained in me from an early age that family should always come first. I’ve always believed that part of my personal responsibilities towards my family extends professionally as well.”
Ambani is only too aware of the enormous shoes she must fill. Her father is responsible for transforming RIL from a small but profitable business into a Global Fortune 500 company. While being the boss’s daughter has its perks, the challenges are plentiful. “The pressure is magnified because I am constantly in the spotlight. People are watching you and waiting for you to fail. I feel like I have to work twice as hard in order to dispel the stereotypes associated with working for your dad.”
So far, Ambani has done an exceptional job of proving herself. The first major project she oversaw at RIL was the launch in 2016 of Jio, a pan-India mobile data and digital services company. Within the first 170 days, Jio had signed 100 million subscribers. Today, this number has reached 120 million. I ask Ambani to tell me more about her work with Jio and the role she sees the company playing in India’s digital revolution.
“With Jio I saw the potential for an equalising platform that could catapult India into the digital age. Jio entered the market with a pan-India 4G service, when other carriers were struggling to offer 3G. People saw that Jio’s data services were not only faster but also cheaper and more reliable. By giving people access to high-speed internet, Jio has launched India into the digital age.”
In addition to her work with Jio, Ambani is also deeply involved with the subsidiary Reliance Retail, India’s largest retail company. In April 2016, Reliance Retail launched AJIO, a multi-brand e-commerce platform offering a mix of Western and traditional wear. Ambani oversaw the launch, calling it one of the “most ambitious projects” the company has taken on.
Wearing a Valentino dress from Net-A-Porter and Aquazzura sandals from Farfetch, Ambani is an authority on e-commerce. In 2016, e-tail sales in India amounted to $15 billion, around two per cent of total retail spending. It is fair to say India’s e-commerce market remains relatively underdeveloped. Does this mean AJIO could become a leading player in the e-commerce game? Ambani thinks so. The future is promising for India’s online market, with forecasts projecting that by 2020 retail consumer spending and internet penetration will both double, to $3.6 trillion and 730 million users. “We are entering the market at the perfect time.”
“Traditionally retail has operated in a disorganised manner (neighbourhood and corner stores forming the majority of the sector) and players like Walmart and Carrefour have tried to enter the market. However, the landscape is incredibly complex. What sets Reliance Retail apart from its competitors is our nuanced understanding of the market. We have … a local understanding of the market and our consumer, and cater to the average Indian in a way that has never before been done in India.”
While India is emerging as a world leader in science and technology, the gender gap for economic participation in India is one of the largest in the world, with women only accounting for 23 per cent of the labour force. As the first woman in her family to assume executive responsibilities within the company, Ambani is subverting cultural stereotypes attached to working women in India. Her success has established her as a role model to women around the country. “I hope my profile encourages more women to join the workforce, not just because it’s beneficial to economic growth – a study done by McKinsey Global Institute estimates that complete gender parity in India could add $2.9 trillion to the country’s annual GDP by 2025 – but because I want to create a nurturing environment for women to be able to work in.”
When asked about her own role models, Ambani points to women who have broken glass ceilings: Sheryl Sandberg, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Laurene Powell Jobs. “However, my best role model is my father. Because of him I believe fearlessness is a virtue. He raised me to believe I could achieve anything if I am courageous, hardworking and self-confident. He taught me there is no glass ceiling. His patriotism to India and his passion for the potential of the youth of this country is truly inspiring.”
Ambani is the first to acknowledge she enjoys great privilege. She is also a firm believer, however, in the old adage that with great privilege comes great responsibility. “I have always felt passionate about extending a business’s services to benefit society at large … and about the applications of technology in improving the lives of people.” She is the force behind Reliance Foundation’s digital education program, which provides resources to teachers in rural India via a digital platform. “I’m excited about positive applications of the internet in rural areas. We can really see how access to technology has the power to improve people’s lives.”
What’s next? For now, finishing the MBA, and summer coding classes. “I’m fascinated by tech, and Stanford is Disneyland for techies! I’m trying to take advantage of the resources available to me here.” Long term, Ambani can hear her dharma calling: she will return to India and Reliance. “India is my home and I want to be able to give back to her. I firmly intend to return to RIL to lead the growth of its next-generation ventures.”