Tony Jesudasan, key lieutenant at Anil Ambani’s Reliance, passes away at 71

Tony Jesudasan, Anil Ambani’s key lieutenant at Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), passed away early Monday morning at the age of 71. Jesudasan was suffering from heart ailments, and was under treatment. 

Jesudasan was a high-profile corporate communications and corporate affairs professional. He was the group president for corporate communications and corporate affairs of R-ADAG.

Earlier this month, he suffered a heart attack just as he took a flight from Bhopal. He was then taken to Fortis Hospital on arrival in Delhi, where he turned 71. He underwent angioplasty and was moved to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, where he continued to be under critical care till his passing at 5 am on Monday. 

He is survived by wife Parul Sharma and daughter Preetika. 

Fondly known as TJ, Jesudasan was an MBA from FMS Delhi. He worked at the US embassy when he was invited by Dhirubhai Ambani to join the then undivided Reliance in 1990. After Dhirubhai Ambani’s death, Jesudasan chose to join Anil Ambani’s company, where he remained a trusted lieutenant. 

Jesudasan had the rare ability to think and function calmly under great pressure and had longstanding relationships across the political spectrum, businesspersons and media.

Tony Jesudasan was named amid a list of potential targets of Israeli spyware Pegasus, along with Anil Ambani. It was reported that the phone numbers used by Anil Ambani and another official of ADAG were added to the leaked list. The reports named Tony Jesudasan as the other company official. 

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