THE NEXT 100 - INHERITORS

INHERITORS WHO SYMBOLISE INDIA TOMORROW

- M.G. Arun

SOLID ANCHOR

KARAN ADANI, 34

CEO, Adani Ports & SEZ Ahmedabad

As a young man about to enter the family business in 2009, Karan Adani was given two options— power or ports. He opted for the latter and joined Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), where he gained expertise in core operations. In 2016, he took over the reins of APSEZ, and decided to shift its focus from coal to containers, making investments in Kattupalli, Kamarajar and Vizhinjam ports, keeping expansion in containers in mind. With the rising global awareness about climate change and environmental pollution, the company is also focusing on handling gas, LNG and LPG. Inland logistics has been another focus area. His idea is to form an integrated logistics company that will provide end-to-end logistics solutions to customers using Adani’s ports. In 2020-21, APSEZ acquired the Krishnapatnam, Dighi and Gangavaram ports as well as the Sarguja Rail Corridor, and entered into a partnership to develop a container terminal at the Colombo port.

An economics graduate from Purdue University, Adani, son of industrialist Gautam Adani and his wife Priti, views the business with a stakeholder-centric approach. He has successfully steered APSEZ’s growth strategy, resulting in its rapid expansion from a single port operator in 2016 to handling a string of 14 ports and terminals now. APSEZ achieved a cargo volume of 247 million metric tonnes in FY 2020-21 and has a market share of 25 per cent. APSEZ has also set itself a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, the first Indian company in the ports sector to do so.

— M.G. Arun