Gautam Adani’s succession plan: Sons Karan and Jeet, nephews Pranav and Sagar to be in saddle; all about the 4 heirs

Gautam Adani, India’s second richest man, delved into his retirement and business succession plans in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, August 5. The 62-year-old Adani is currently the second richest man after Mukesh Ambani according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. He plans to step down from the business at 70.

Gautam Adani had set up a commodity trading company with his brothers, Vinod Adani and Rajesh Adani, before expanding into ports, airports, coal and power, according to Bloomberg.

Gautam Adani, born to Shantilal Adani and Shantaben Adani, is one of eight siblings and the fourth of five brothers. According to a Forbes report, he began his entrepreneurial journey in 1978 after dropping out of school at 16. He moved in with brother Vinod Adani in Mumbai and took up a job of diamond sorting. In 1982, he returned to Gujarat with the help of his eldest brother, Mahasukh Adani.

Key Roles

Gautam Adani is the Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group.

His brother, Rajesh Adani, is the Managing Director of Adani Enterprises. He is currently in charge of the operations of the Group and is responsible for developing its business relationships.

Vinod Adani is the older brother of Gautam Adani, who lives abroad and has stakes in various group companies held through multiple overseas investment firms that belonging to him, according to a Forbes report.

Gautam Adani’s wife, Priti Adani, is the Chairperson of the Adani Foundation. She handles the conglomerate's Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

Successors

According to a Bloomberg report, Adani plans to retire at age 70 and there are four successors to the business. This includes Gautam Adani’s sons Karan and Jeet Adani and their cousins Pranav and Sagar Adani. Pranav Adani is the son of Vinod Adani whereas Sagar Adani is the son of Rajesh Adani. All four of them are named heirs through a family trust, the report said.

Pranav Adani is the eldest among the four and has been in the business for the longest. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University. He now oversees most of the Adani Group’s consumer businesses, including consumer goods, media and real estate. Pranav Adani is the Managing Director (Agro, Oil & Gas) and Director of Adani Enterprises. He joined the business in 1999 with Adani Wilmar Limited.

He is also responsible for the redevelopment Dharavi slum, which involves relocating a million people at the heart of Mumbai, the Bloomberg report said.

Karan Adani is the Managing Director of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ). He is an economics graduate from Purdue University, USA.

Sagar Adani is the executive director of Adani Green Energy Ltd. He joined the Adani Group in 2015. He graduated in Economics from Brown University, USA. He is currently overseeing all strategic and financial matters of Adani Green Energy.

Jeet Adani joined the Adani Group in 2019, after attending the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently a director of Adani Airports and leads Adani Digital Labs. He started his career in the Group CFO’s office and was a part of the company's Strategic Finance, Capital Markets and Risk & Governance Policy.

Adani Group consists of 10 publicly listed entities with a combined market capitalisation of $213 billion (according to Bloomberg) with businesses in sectors such as energy, ports and Logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace, and airports.