New Delhi:

Gautam Adani had, in the late 1970s, applied to study at a Mumbai college but his application was rejected. He did not pursue education but turned to business and went on to build a $220-billion empire. About four-and-a-half decades later, he got called to the same college to deliver an address to students on Teachers’ Day.

Mr Adani had moved to Mumbai at the age of 16 and started working as a diamond sorter. Around the same time – in 1977 or 1978 – he applied for admission to the city’s Jai Hind College. “But they rejected him,” said Vikram Nankani, President of the Jai Hind College Alumni Association, as he introduced the Adani Group Chairman before the address.

Mr Adani had applied to Jai Hind College because his elder brother, Vinod, had earlier studied there.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, the college did not accept him and he went on to work full time and pursued an alternative career,” Mr Nankani said, declaring Gautam Adani as a “deemed alumni” since he had applied to join.

After working as a diamond sorter for almost two years, Mr Adani returned to his home state of Gujarat to run a packaging factory managed by a brother.

He never really looked back after he launched his firm in 1998, trading in commodities. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, his companies diversified into ports, mines, infrastructure, power, city gas, renewable energy, cement, real estate, data centres and media.

The infrastructure tycoon, who runs 13 seaports in India and operates seven airports, is the largest private player in power, the biggest renewable energy producer, runs the country’s second-largest cement company, is building expressways and redeveloping Asia’s largest slum, and is described by some as the most aggressive of India’s new generation of entrepreneurs.

Delivering the address ‘Breaking Boundaries: The Power of Passion and Unconventional Paths to Success’, Mr Adani, 62, said he was just 16 when he chose to break his first boundary.

“It had to do with giving up my education and choosing to move to an unknown future in Mumbai. People still ask me, ‘Why did you move to Mumbai? Why did you not complete your education?’ The answer lies in the heart of every young dreamer who sees boundaries not as barriers but as challenges that test his courage.

“I was driven by a need to see if I had the courage to make a life for myself in the most happening city of our country,” he said.

Mumbai was his training ground for business as he learned to sort and trade in diamonds.

“The field of trading makes a good teacher. I learnt very early that an entrepreneur can never be frozen by over-evaluating the choices in front of him. It is Mumbai that taught me ‘To think big, you must first dare to dream beyond your boundaries’,” he said.

In the 1980s, he established a trading organisation for importing polymers to supply to the struggling small-scale industries. “By the time I turned 23, my trading venture was doing well,” he said.

After the 1991 economic liberalisation, he established a global trading house dealing in polymers, metals, textiles, and agri-products. He was just 29 at the time.

“Within two years, we had become the largest global trading house in the country. This is when I understood the combined value of both speed and scale,” he said.

“Thereafter, in 1994, we decided that it was time to go public, and Adani Exports, now known as Adani Enterprises, launched its IPO. The IPO was a strong success and underscored for me the importance of public markets.”

Mr Adani realised that to break the next set of boundaries, he would have to first start by challenging his own status quo and investing in assets to provide a solid foundation.

Marshy Land, Or Canvas?

In the mid-1990s, he was approached by the global commodities trader Cargill for a partnership to manufacture and source salt from the Kutch region in Gujarat.

“While the partnership did not materialise, we were left with about 40,000 acres of marshy land and approval to build a captive jetty at Mundra (in Gujarat) for the export of salt,” he said.

What others saw as marshy barren land, he saw as a canvas waiting to be transformed. That canvas is now by far India’s largest port.

“Mundra today hosts India’s largest port, the largest industrial Special Economic Zone, the largest container terminals, the largest thermal power plant, the largest solar manufacturing facility, the largest copper plant, and the largest edible oil refinery. And yet, we’re only about 10 per cent of what Mundra will eventually become,” he said.

He is now building the world’s biggest renewable energy park in the inhospitable deserts of Kutch and redeveloping Dharavi in Mumbai.

“While we have helped redefine India’s infrastructure across airports, ports, logistics, industrial parks and energy it is not the victories that define us. It is the mindset to take on and overcome challenges that have shaped the Adani Group’s journey,” he added.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Mumbai:

Urging students to dream big, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said on Thursday that the true measure of a leader is not in the titles he achieves but the legacy he leaves behind. 

Addressing a special Teachers’ Day Event, ‘Breaking Boundaries’, at the Jai Hind College in Mumbai, Mr Adani spoke of his journey from the time he decided to leave his education at the age of 16 to becoming the founder of one of the country’s most successful conglomerates, his inspirations, the challenges he has faced, and India’s journey to becoming an economic powerhouse. 

“Consider the early titans of the US industry, such as John D Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt or Andrew Carnegie, who built the infrastructure that shaped the future of the United States or our own visionary leaders like JRD Tata, GD Birla and Dhirubhai Ambani, who played invaluable roles in transforming India’s economic landscape. These leaders did more than just build businesses, they established legacies… They showed that the true measure of a leader is not in the titles but in the legacies they leave behind,” Mr Adani said. 

‘Challenges, Not Barriers’

Asserting that it is easy to criticise the present, the Adani Group Chairman said history has a way of highlighting the profound contributions of those who dare to break boundaries. 

Recounting his teenage years, Mr Adani said, “I was just 16 when I decided to break my first boundary – giving up my education and choosing to move to an unknown future in the city of Mumbai. People still ask me why I did that, and the answer lies in the heart of every young dreamer who sees boundaries not as barriers but as challenges that test his courage. I was driven by a need to see if I had the courage to make a life for myself in the most happening city of our country.”

The industrialist said Mumbai was a training ground for him in the world of business and that is where he learnt how to trade in diamonds. The city, he said, taught him that to think big, one must first dare to dream beyond one’s boundaries.

Next Phase 

At the age of 19, Mr Adani was asked by his elder brother to help run their PVC film factory near Ahmedabad. He said restrictive import policies posed a challenge to the business and he saw the beginning of transformation in India in the mid-1980s.

“In 1985, under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi, the country took its first steps towards economic liberalisation. The easing of import policies opened up new possibilities for businesses. Having run our PVC factory, I understood the pains of the small-scale import sector and therefore, despite having no prior experience in trading, I saw an opportunity. I took a leap and established a trading organisation for importing polymers to supply to the struggling small-scale industries,” Mr Adani recalled. 

Highlighting the reforms of 1991, the Adani Group chairman said the year was about the liberalisation of business. “And in 2014, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the essence of freedom was further accelerated as reforms and good governance took centre stage. All these years stand as turning points in India’s remarkable journey,” he said. 

“Those who dared to break boundaries, capitalised on opportunities and set themselves up for success… Looking back, we were one of them. In every crisis lies the potential for a reinvention, and it is our courage during such moments that defines the path to greatness,” he added. 

Tracing his journey over the years, the Adani Group chairman said he understood the combined value of speed and scale and recognised that the group needed to invest in assets that would provide a solid foundation for growth. 

“I realised that to break the next set of boundaries, I would have to start with challenging my own status quo. The future belongs to those who dare to see beyond the present, who recognise that today’s limits are tomorrow’s starting points,” he said. 

‘Canvas Waiting To Be Transformed’

Speaking about the Mundra port in Gujarat, the Adani Group chairman said that what others saw as barren marshy land was seen by the group as a canvas waiting to be transformed. 

“That canvas is now, by far, our nation’s largest port. Mundra became my ‘karmabhoomi’ and made my vision a reality… a powerful testimony to the fact that what you dream, you create; and what you think, you become. Mundra today boasts of India’s largest port, the largest industrial special economic zone, the largest container terminals, the largest thermal power plants, the largest solar manufacturing facility, the largest copper smelter and the largest edible oil refinery,” Mr Adani said. 

“And yet, we are only 10% of what Mundra will eventually become. It stands as a living monument to the power of integrated business models and the strategic value of adjacencies…  challenging the very concept of core competencies that the West advocates. Over the years, I learnt a vital lesson: the bigger your bets, the bigger are the boundaries you break and the bigger boundaries you break, the lesser is the competition,” he added.

Highlighting the Group’s success in the Khavda renewable energy project, Mr Adani also explained why the Group had taken up the redevelopment of Dharavi.

“For me, Dharavi is not just about urban renewal. It is about restoring dignity to over one million residents of our country. It is about the possibilities when you dare to dream big and act with purpose,” he said.

Global Contender

Mr Adani also spoke about the attack on the conglomerate by the short seller Hindenburg Research and how the group has emerged stronger. 

Reiterating his belief in India’s future, the Adani Group chairman said the country has transformed from a minor player to becoming a formidable global contender. 

“It is well established now that by the end of this decade, India is set to be the world’s third-largest economy. With the government in its third term, India is also positioned to consolidate the several groundbreaking initiatives launched by the government and continue the economic and social programmes that have driven our spectacular journey over the past decade,” Mr Adani said.

“A democracy whose time has come cannot be stopped and India’s time has arrived. The future is ours to create and the boundaries we break today will define the India of tomorrow,” he added. 

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)