Will Karan Adani become Adani Group chairman when Gautam Adani exits? ‘It’s likely'

Gautam Adani said that he was very focused on a well-planned transition for the sustainability of the business.

Gautam Adani has mapped out a succession plan for his conglomerate as per which the 62-year-old will step down at 70 transferring control of his business empire to his sons and their cousins by “early 2030s”. Talking to Bloomberg News, Gautam Adani said that he was very focused on a well-planned transition for the sustainability of the business. He said, “Succession is very, very important for business sustainability” owing to which he preferred an organic, gradual, and systematic transition.

Karan Gautam Adani, Chief Executive Officer of Adani Ports & SEZ Limited.(PTI)

He said that Gautam Adani's sons- Karan Adani and Jeet Adani- along with cousins Pranav Adani and Sagar Adani, want to run the group as a united family even after he steps down. This aligns with the family's values and ensures continuity and stability for the Adani Group, he said.

But who could take over as Adani Group chairman when Gautam Adani exits?

Pranav Adani and Karan Adani “are the most obvious candidates to eventually take over as chairman. However, they say there are no plans for either to take charge,” the report claimed.

Karan Adani is Gautam Adani's elder son and is currently overseeing businesses including cement, ports and logistics which are some of the group’s most established units and have the most steadiest cash flows. In the interview, Karan Adani said that Adani Group's ports business is “looking to expand its network and is seen as an extension of India’s strategic priorities developing ports in Vietnam, Israel and a US-funded port in Sri Lanka that seeks to unseat China’s regional dominance.”

He said, “The clear priority is that we keep expanding not just within India, but also into our neighboring countries. By 2030, we want to be handling at least a billion tonne of volume.” India could be a potential alternative to Dubai or Singapore, “the center point of the overall supply chain from east to west", he said.

Pranav Adani joined the group in 1999 and now oversees most of its consumer businesses, including consumer goods, gas distribution, media and real estate. He told Bloomberg News on crisis that Adani Group has faced that, “We weren’t communicating the way we should have. So now we are going out and communicating” to stakeholders and the media.

Pranav Adani is also running one of the group’s most high-profile projects: redeveloping Asia’s largest slum Dharavi.