Gautam Adani The Man With The Midas Touch

In A Never-before-seen Avatar, The Business Tycoon Opens Up About The Workings Of His Family, The Empire He’s Built And What Drives The Ambition That Has Stunned The Corporate World

A Ganpati idol holds a pride of place on the 16th floor chairman’s office of Adani House, the group headquarters in ‘Shantigram’, a private township in Ahmedabad. Light, semi-classical instrumental music flows in the background in the minimally decorated chairman’s lounge. Gautam Adani walks in briskly and settles down at the corner of a sofa, exuding a warm, informal demeanour. He’s agile, sports an unflinching air about him and a face that defies that he turned 60 this June. The business tycoon gears up to share insights into his enviable ambition that has stunned the corporate world with a seemingly insatiable appetite for new businesses — and a bold US$70 billion green mission.

In your view, what are the Adani Group’s core strengths?

The great thing about growth is connecting adjacencies. We created many adjacencies. Very few groups in India possess the strength to conceptualise and implement large greenfield projects. We have 15 ports connecting the country and a large land bank. We’re now working with Sri Lanka to generate wind energy there and bring it to Indian shores.

If you look at family and professionals in family-driven groups, there’s a certain way things are handled, especially in the first generation. How are you readying the group for perpetuity?