Nita Ambani, the wife of Asia’s richest billionaire, will become the chairwoman of an $8.5 billion media empire in India.
The world’s attention is focused on the family of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani as he organizes a series of celebrations leading up to the wedding of his youngest son, Anant Ambani, and future daughter-in-law, Radhika Merchant, with over 1,000 business leaders, politicians, and artists invited.
Nita Ambani, 60, also draws attention for another reason. A few months ago, she stepped away from the business world to focus on charitable work. However, she will return to the highly competitive Indian media industry as the chairwoman of a media conglomerate, formed from a merger between Disney India and a company under Reliance Industries, the conglomerate controlled by her husband.
Nita Ambani, a member of the International Olympic Committee, spoke after cricket was approved as an Olympic sport during the meeting on October 16, 2023, in Mumbai.
Although she will hold the position of chairwoman, Nita Ambani will not manage the $8.5 billion company alone. Uday Shankar, former chairman of Disney’s Asia-Pacific division, will serve as vice chairman and lead strategy development, according to a company announcement at the end of February. The Disney-Reliance merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
Nita Ambani entered the business field about 10 years ago, becoming the first female director on the board of Reliance Industries. However, many critics considered her position more symbolic than substantive.
She resigned from the board in August 2023 to focus on the Reliance Foundation, an organization dedicated to charitable initiatives. Nita Ambani is described as a “businesswoman, educator, philanthropist” with significant experience in promoting sports and the arts in India. She is also the owner of the Mumbai Indians, a famous cricket team in the IPL.
Sports are expected to be a key to success for the new media company. Disney India faced numerous challenges before the merger announcement, particularly after losing the broadcast rights for live cricket matches to Reliance in 2022, leading to the loss of millions of subscribers.
Nita, a classical Bharatnatyam dancer, once taught at a school. Her life changed when her future father-in-law, Dhirubhai Ambani, witnessed one of her performances and introduced her to his son, Mukesh Ambani. The couple married in 1985 and have three children.
Mukesh Ambani, 66, is Asia’s richest man with a fortune exceeding $114 billion. Nita Ambani is a member of the International Olympic Committee and an honorary trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Last year, the Cultural Center named after her and her husband was inaugurated in Mumbai, where India’s first Broadway show, The Sound of Music, took place in May 2023.
Nita Ambani is passionate about children’s education in India, especially girls. “I have never made a distinction between my daughter Isha and my sons Akash and Anant. What boys can do, girls can do as well,” Nita Ambani said in an interview last year, emphasizing the importance of equal pay for women.
The presence of women on corporate boards in India has significantly improved over the past decade. Nearly 95% of the 500 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India had at least one woman on their board in 2022, a 69% increase from 2017, according to a report by consulting firm EY.
However, fewer than 5% of companies have a female chairperson, indicating there is still room for improvement. In her new role, Nita Ambani would become “the most powerful woman in India’s entertainment and media industry,” with an estimated fortune exceeding $25 billion.
Reliance holds more than 63% of the joint venture’s shares, directly controlling 16.3% and indirectly 46.8% through Viacom18. Disney owns the remaining shares. The two companies announced that the joint venture is expected to reach over 750 million viewers in India.
