August 5, 2025, A prudent transition of leadership (Board of Directors, Adani Ports and SEZ) has blessed Gautam Adani with the redesignation of a new position of Non-Executive Chairman after conferring the previous role and duties to the new management team. As this was done, Adani ceased to be the Key Managerial Personnel of the company, officially indicating a greater move towards a board level of governance for the day-to-day running of company operations. The action is regarded as an extension of a wider decentralisation factor of leadership and a more strategic orientation of the Adani Group.
Manish Kejriwal Joins Board; Operational Control Strengthened
Gautam Adani will no longer serve as an executive, and Manish Kejriwal is appointed as an Additional Director (Non-Executive, Independent) with a three-year term by the shareholders. At the same time, operational excellence is again led by Ashwani Gupta, Whole-Time Director & CEO, which is supported by robust performance in both the logistics and the marine sectors.
Such rearrangements of the leadership are not only in conformity with contemporary approaches to governance, but they are also an indication that the group wants transparent and independent decision-making at the board level.
Strong Financials Despite Market Dip: Q1 FY26 Performance
The Adani ports have realised a good 7% YoY growth in net profits at 3311 crore pence in Q1 FY26 as compared to 3107 crore last year. As the revenue shot up by 21 per cent YoY, it hit 9,126 crores. EBITDA increased by 13% with the help of the outstanding results of logistics (2x growth) and marine (2.9x growth) business.
This growth can be attributed to the fact that CEO Ashwani Gupta referred to the company as adopting an evolving transport utility model that will combine all aspects of the ecosystem into a singular stream, namely, port, logistics, and infrastructure. Nevertheless, even with significant performance, the company shares fell by 2.72 per cent, which might be because of leadership transition alarms among investors.
Adani’s Strategic Exit: Visionary Pivot or Tactical Move?
The departure of Gautam Adani from the executive position can liberate him to concentrate on a group-wide vision, global investment, and the future-oriented sectors of business, such as green hydrogen and data infrastructure. Although symbolic, such a change may set Adani Ports on a more agile and transparent basis as it expands its operations to other parts of the world.
