Gautam Adani unveils succession plan

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani plans to retire in the next eight to ten years and hand over the reins of the conglomerate to the second generation of Adanis—two sons and two nephews.

Gautam Adani’s sons—Karan (37) and Jeet (26)—and his nephews—Pranav (45) and Sagar (30)—currently run different companies in the $213 billion group. 

“Succession is very, very important for the business sustainability,” the Adani group chairman told Bloomberg in a sit-down interview at the group’s headquarters in Ahmedabad. 

“I left the choice to the second generation as the transition must be organic, gradual and very systematic,” he said in the interview. 

Gautam Adani, 62, set up a commodity trading company with his brothers Vinod and Rajesh in 1988, which later expanded into ports, airports, coal, and power. The group has 10 listed companies, including Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, and Adani Power Ltd. 

Pranav, who is the son of Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod, oversees the group’s consumer businesses, including consumer goods, gas distribution, media, and real estate.

Karan, Gautam Adani’s elder son, manages the cement, ports, and logistics businesses of the group.

Sagar—the son of Adani’s younger brother Rajesh—oversees the group’s energy business, including the company’s push into green energy, as well as finance.

Jeet, Adani’s younger son and the youngest of them all, oversees the group’s airports business, as well as its defense arm and digital arm, the report said. 

Outlining how the succession would work, the report said the four of them will become equal beneficiaries of the family trust after Gautam Adani retires while they would continue to lead different group companies. 

The second-generation Adanis told Bloomberg in separate interviews that the joint decision-making will continue after the founder retires. 

Neither the four younger Adanis nor Gautam Adani revealed who will head the conglomerate as chairman. 

“I am happy that all of them are hungry for growth, which is not common in the second generation. They have to work together to build a legacy,” Gautam Adani said of his four heirs, expressing confidence that they will deliver.