Top News

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani best known as Dhirubhai Ambani was the founder of Reliance Industries. He went from being an errand boy to one of the best businessmen in the world. Dhirubhai Ambanis story is truly one of rags to riches and inspires many people today. Dhirubhai was not only a businessman; he was recognized for his kindness and humility. Dhirubhai and his wife Kokilaben Ambani remained down-to-earth and true to their roots after being incredibly successful. Kokilaben and Dhirubhai Ambani have four children: Mukesh Ambani Anil Ambani Deepti Salgaocar and Neena Kothari. While many people recognize these names as household names there are members of the Ambani family who choose to keep a low profile and stay away from the public eye and spotlight. One such member is Dhirubhai Ambanis elder sister Trilochna Ben. Dhirubhai Ambani was born to Hirachand Gordhanbhai Ambani who was a schoolteacher and Jamnaben Ambani. He was born in the small town of Chorwad in the state of Gujarat with four siblings — a sister Trilochna Ben and brothers Ramaniklal Jasuben and Natubhai. While Dhirubhai Ambani gained fame as the founder of Reliance Industries the family successfully supported him while remaining out of the limelight. His elder sister Trilochna Ben has been completely discreet; however her family has contributed to Reliance as well. When Rasiklal Meswani was alive he was one of the directors of Reliance Industries and in honour of his legacy his sons — Nikhil R. Meswani and Hital R. Meswani — are now the executive directors at Reliance Industries. Therefore the family is intimately connected to the company Dhirubhai built. Nikhil R. Meswani son of Rasiklal Meswani one of the Founder Directors of the Company is primarily responsible for the petrochemicals division and has made major contributions towards Reliance becoming a global leader in petrochemicals. Between 1997 and 2005 he handled the refinery business of the Company. In addition he continues to shoulder several other corporate responsibilities such as Corporate Affairs and Group Taxation. Hital R. Meswani is on the Board of the Company as Whole-time Director designated as Executive Director since August 4 1995. His overall responsibility spans the Petroleum Refining and Marketing Business Petrochemicals Manufacturing and several corporate functions of the company including Human Resources Management Information Technology Research & Technology and Capital Projects Execution. Rasiklal Meswani’s elder son Nikhil R. Meswani came to Reliance Industries in 1986 and by July 1988 was appointed to the board as an Executive Director. Nikhil played the role of leading Reliance’s petrochemicals business and helped the company emerge as a global player in that space. He is also involved in the affairs of Reliance-owned Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise Mumbai Indians Indian Super League (ISL) and other sports initiatives of the Company. Rasiklal’s younger son Hital R. Meswani is responsible for the entire operations of Reliance’s Petroleum Refining and Marketing business. He is on the Board of the Company as Whole-time Director designated as Executive Director since August 4 1995. His overall responsibility spans the Petroleum Refining and Marketing Business Petrochemicals Manufacturing and several corporate functions of the company including Human Resources Management Information Technology Research & Technology and Capital Projects Execution. Interestingly very few people know that Rasiklal Meswani was Mukesh Ambani’s first boss. When Mukesh joined Reliance he worked with Rasiklal. In an interview with Rediff long ago Mukesh Ambani talked about his experience of leading a team under Rasiklals guidance and lessons learnt in business in those early years of his career. “This was in 1981. Rasikbhai Meswani Nikhil and Hitals father was my first boss. The management style used to be very open. We could walk into each others cabin join in a meeting or get involved in any discussion. My father encouraged it. But when I joined Reliance formally he said you need to have a boss and I was put under Rasikbhais charge. He was running our polyester business which consisted of importing polyester fibre texturising it and selling it to textile mills. It was a new business compared to our own textile mill at Naroda (near Ahmedabad) that brought in almost 60%-70% of the profits” Mukesh Ambani was quoted as saying by Rediff.