Akash Ambani

Akash Ambani was still pursuing his college studies when his father was considering venturing into the telecommunication industry with the Jio brand in 2013. During this time, both he and his sister Isha, who were studying in the US, told him how they could do anything via the internet while abroad, but cannot do anything properly while back at home. Akash enlightened his father, Mukesh Ambani, about social media, which lets people stay connected without anyone ever taking a phone call, which in business terms means that the company can always charge data cost and the concept of a missed call would not exist. He convinced his father to embrace cutting-edge technology, which prompted the business magnet to aim for services ten times better than existing ones.

A technology enthusiast, Akash immediately became involved in the development of the game-changing Jio 4G-LTE connection, which did not support legacy 2G/3G network. He joined the 60-member startup four days after completing his graduation in Economics in 2014. He spearheaded the whole process including building the network architecture, cloud, media, communications, chat products and security.

Akash Ambani, who was brought up 'normally' by his parents and grandparents, mentioned that he was not able to gain a complete perspective of his privileged birth until he went to the US for higher studies. He first got an idea of his family legacy after he picked up a copy of the Forbes magazine from a friend in New York. His father was in the Forbes' list of wealthiest people around the world – a list he claims he didn't even know existed. His father is his hero, who taught him to focus on outcomes, be humble and to communicate with each individual involved in the business.

While he learned the ropes following his father in their family business, he actually got his first taste of how to manage a business when his mother gave him responsibilities of their IPL team, Mumbai Indians, when he was only a kid. Being a cricket lover, he was more than happy to pick the players for the team, but his mother made sure that he took each decision after careful consideration of all aspects. According to him, his biggest challenge is to forge his own identity and live up to the expectation of being born as an Ambani.

Akash Mukesh Ambani was born on October 23, 1991 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, to Mukesh and Nita Ambani. His father is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, while his mother is the founder of Reliance Foundation. His grandfather, late Dhirubhai Ambani, was an Indian business tycoon and founded Reliance Industries back in 1966. He is the nephew of businessman Anil Ambani and former actress Tina Ambani. He has a twin sister, Isha, with whom he currently shares an apartment in Mumbai, and a younger brother, Anant.

As a child, he attended Campion School in Mumbai for six-seven years before getting into Dhirubhai Ambani International School, which is run by Nita Ambani. He later went to the US for higher studies and completed his graduation in Economics from Brown University.

He has always been interested in sports, especially cricket, since he was a child. He later became a fan of the English Premier League football club Arsenal after watching their captain Patrick Vieira score the final goal in the penalty shootout in the 2005 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Manchester United. Due to his studies abroad, he initially could not get as involved with their IPL team, Mumbai Indians, as his younger brother Anant was handling the affairs of the team, which Reliance bought in 2008. However, he participated in the 2014 IPL auctions and has been responsible for management of the team since then. He is a collector of various sports memorabilia and cherishes watching an Arsenal match with former footballer Thierry Henry.