NITA M AMBANI - THE PATRON OF ART & CULTURE
Nita M Ambani is an educationist, philanthropist, businesswoman, sports enthusiast, patron of the arts, and a tireless champion of women and children. She is the Founder Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, an initiative that has empowered over 63 million Indians, providing them with the resources and opportunities for a positive and sustainable livelihood.
Nita is the first Indian to be elected an Honorary Trustee on the Board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Furthering her commitment to art and culture, she recently launched a visionary space in Mumbai, India–the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) as a part of the Jio World Centre (JWC), India’s largest convention, retail, dining, commercial, and residential space. The crown jewel of JWC, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre will focus on preserving and promoting India’s rich heritage and traditions in the sphere of art, design and theatre. The mission of the NMACC, under Nita’s leadership, is to bring the best of the world to India and showcase India’s best to the world.
Nita is also the first Indian woman to be elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In February 2022, she successfully led the Indian delegation to win the right to host the IOC Session 2023 in Mumbai, bringing the Olympic movement back to the country after 40 years. She is the co-owner of Mumbai Indians, the most successful cricket team in the Indian Premier League, and the Founder Chairperson of Football Sports Development Limited, which launched the Indian Super League. Through the Education and Sports for All programme, she has so far touched the lives of 21.5 million children in India. In 2021, she launched Her Circle—an inclusive, collaborative and socially-conscious digital movement for women that has become India’s fastest-growing social community connecting over 42 million women to date.
A teacher at heart, she provides leadership to 14 schools, including the Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS), which is amongst the top 20 International Baccalaureate (IB) schools globally and the No. 1 International school in India. She is also the Founder Chairperson of the Jio Institute, a world-class centre for multi-disciplinary higher education with a strong focus on research, innovation and lifelong learning.
Nita is committed to making wellness a priority; and quality healthcare accessible and affordable to all Indians through various initiatives of Reliance Foundation. Under her leadership, Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre has become the No. 1 Hospital in Mumbai.
ABOUT ISHA AMBANI
Isha Ambani is part of the executive leadership teams at Reliance Retail, Reliance Jio, Reliance Foundation, Reliance Foundation Institution of Education and Research, and Dhirubhai Ambani International School. She is on the Advisory Board of the Yale Schwarzman Center, and on the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, the Dia Art Foundation, and Jio MAMI, which organises the annual international film festival in Mumbai.
Isha played a pivotal role in conceptualising and launching Reliance’s digital services business, Jio, in India in 2016. A game-changer in the Indian telecom landscape, with over 425 million subscribers, Jio is currently India’s no. 1 digital service provider and amongst the largest in the world.
She spearheads Reliance Retail, which is India’s largest retailer by revenue, profit, reach, and scale with presence in grocery, consumer electronics, and fashion retail. Under her leadership, Reliance Retail is among the Top-10 Retailers in Asia and the only Indian retailer in the list of global top 100 retailers.
Isha is actively involved in overseeing the vision and impact of Reliance Foundation and is closely involved with the foundation’s work with children and women. She also heads the Diversity and Inclusion programme at Reliance Industries Limited, championing women’s rise in the workplace. An art enthusiast, she leads the art and culture initiatives & collaborations undertaken by Reliance Foundation in India and internationally. She is passionate about education and provides hands-on leadership and direction to all education initiatives of Reliance, especially Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS), Reliance Foundation Schools, and Jio Institute. As Vice-Chairperson of DAIS, she is currently leading the planning and development of the upcoming Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School, a new primary school of the future, designed to provide collaborative learning and world-class facilities for students’ holistic development.
Isha graduated from Yale University in 2013 with a double major in Psychology and South Asian Studies and completed her MBA from Stanford University in 2018.
Photo Caption - The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai, India.