RIC heads for an Executive revamp

With Reliance Infocomm changing hands from Mukesh to Anil Ambani, the search for a new chief operating officer (COO) for the company has begun.

Sources close to the development said the Anil Ambani camp had assigned the task of finding a new COO for its wireless services to international consultant Mckinsey.

"The process of identifying a successor to the current COO, Wireless Business, Kamal Nanavathy, is on. The new CEO will have to oversee the second expansion phase, which will involve more innovation, de-centralisation, adaptability and coping with competition, than just network building," the sources told Business Standard.

The list of management heads, who are likely to shift camps include A G Dowda, president, Reliance Engineering, V V Bhatt, group president, management services and HR, Shankar Adwal, vice-president, corporate affairs, and Sanjay Mashruwala, group president, projects.

While confirming the exits, sources in RIL said that this was not aimed at "disturbing Infocomm's top management". "Management experts who were brought in from RIL to man Infocomm are headed back. As per the agreement, they will leave only after handing over their responsibilities to their successors," sources said.

"Before being brought into Infocomm, they were all with RIL's Jamnagar project. They are likely to be entrusted with RIL's biotech or retail business," sources added.

Anil Ambani is, however, set to retain the services of a select set of the brass, including Prakash Bajpai, president, wireline, V B Khurana, group president, Reliance Infocomm, Amit Khanna, president, entertainment wing, and S P Shukla, president, wireless products and services, sources said.

When contacted, company executives, while expressing relief that the deal had been inked before the target date of June 6, said they were concerned about the high-level changes in the offing.

"The talk in Infocomm has shifted to restructuring in senior management and redistribution of responsibilities," said a senior executive in Delhi.