"For us growth is a way of life and we have to grow at all times. The organizational architecture is really that a centipede walk on hundred legs and one or two don't count. So if I lose one or two legs, the process will go on, the organization will go on, the growth will go on", said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited after reaching an ownership settlement with his younger brother. And like deep water, which runs silently, Mukesh has steadfastly maintained an optimistic, forward looking attitude about the future of Reliance Industries. As a result of India's biggest private conglomerate de-merger, the eldest son of legendary industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani took over the controls of the flagship Reliance Industries with interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas exploration, refining and textiles, and Indian Petrochemicals.

And like a true son of a great father, Mukesh has shown rare traits of passion, and acumen in running the family business ever since the death of Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002. Born on April 19, 1957 in Mumbai, Mukesh later went to do his Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bombay and an MBA from Stanford University, USA. After his return from the US, he worked on various capacities in all and sundry industries and imbibed invaluable business lessons from his father. Unlike his brother Anil who is flamboyant and politically savvy, Mukesh is one of sedate nature and prefers spending time with his children and catching up on technical journals. Known for his down-to-earth approach to big problems, Mukesh has an uncanny eye for business opportunities and acquisitions.

It is no wonder that under his stewardship, RIL was the first and only private sector company from India to feature in the 2004 Fortune Global 500 list of world's largest corporations. In the Forbes 2007 list, he has created another success story for himself by ranking tas the 14th richest man in the world. The dharma of entrepreneurial zeal can best be learnt from this dynamo of a man, for whom even 20 billion dollars in personal wealth does not make him any less humble.

A Chairman of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. and a Director of Reliance Europe Ltd., Mukesh not too long back announced that his firm will expand the polyester capacity by 0.55 MT to 2 MT and said that RIL will continue to look at acquisitions in the petrochemical space. "RIL will continue to evaluate opportunities for acquisition in petrochemical sector," he said, thus paving the way for further expansion of RIL. A man whose mind is always ticking with ideas, Mukesh believes that growth and expansion is the only gateway to prosperity.

It is not surprising that he recently unveiled plans to pursue global opportunities in oil exploration and the company, under his command bagged five blocks under NELP-V and struck gas in 21 of the 28 wells drilled in Krishna Godavari Basin. Not resting on his laurels, Mukesh has plans afoot to double the capacity of the Jamnagar refinery to 60 MT. This will make it the largest refinery at any single location anywhere in the world. The expansion, which is expected to cost Rs.25,000 crore and to be completed by 2009-2010, will certainly add another feather to his cap.

Always active on social front, Mukesh has several national and international awards and accolades to his credit. A member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry, for Mukesh, growth and shouldering responsibility is certainly a way of life. And with a missionary zeal and business acumen right in place, Mukesh is poised to boost RIL into the next orbit in both size and reach. He is preparing to materialize another Indian takeover story that would outshine Tata's recent $12 billion take over of Corus that was one of the biggest deals in the world so far. Mukesh is gearing to target the US petrochemical giant Dow Chemical for a deal that would be worth, as rumored, an astounding 54 billion dollars. However, the US giant Dow is not the sole target in Mukesh's mind as there are some other global petrochemical giants too he is eyeing. For now, the world is watching Mukesh's every move with bated breath.