Made To Measure

She’s born to privilege with a silver-spooned childhood and a fabled last name. But this modern-day heiress is determined to create her own legacy. Girl-to-watch ISHA AMBANI PIRAMAL talks to PRIYA TANNA about work, life and the future, and why, for her, India is at the heart of it all

- Priya Tanna

A modern-day heiress, it is easy to judge her, assume you know her and label her without ever meeting her. As the daughter of business mogul Mukesh Ambani, she must be wellborn, entitled, maybe even a bit of a brat who is far removed from reality. But the truth couldn’t be further, as I find out when I meet Isha Ambani Piramal, director, Reliance Retail and Reliance JIO Infocomm Limited, in the most natural of her habitats—her workplace.

It’s the week after her much-hyped wedding took over our timelines, and this is her first day back at work. I’m at the Nariman Point office, when she, dressed in an unfussy kurta (her work staple, she tells me) walks in. On most days, her 14-hour workday is scheduled to the minute—and today is no different. She’s squeezed this interview between committee meetings, a brain-storming session and a meeting at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS). “It’s the longest I’ve ever been away from work,” she tells me of her three-week wedding prep. Basking in her post-wedding glow, you can still see shadows of henna on her hand, but this new bride means business. After all, she is one of the scions of the Reliance conglomerate, a hundred-billion-dollar behemoth that employs over 2,00,000 people—covering everything from textiles to telecom services.