Early Life
Jitendra Mohandas Virwani was born on November 16, 1968, in Bengaluru, India. He joined his father's construction company at the age of 19 in 1985. His early experience included roles as a site supervisor and liaison executive, navigating the complex real estate landscape. Virwani's education includes a degree in Hospitality Management from Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, and a Bachelor of Commerce from Bangalore University.
Rise to Success
In 1993, Virwani founded his own construction firm, laying the foundation for the Embassy Group. His vision was to build a major real estate group, initially focusing on office spaces. A key turning point was the strategic partnership with Blackstone in 2012, which led to the launch of India’s first REIT in 2019. This move significantly increased Embassy Group’s profile and financial capacity. Key projects such as Embassy Square and Embassy Point marked his early success in Bangalore's real estate market. Virwani expanded the group's footprint across various sectors, including commercial, residential, hospitality, and industrial spaces.
Key Business Strategies
Virwani's success is attributed to several strategic decisions. He identified the growing demand for Grade A office space during the Indian IT boom and strategically acquired land in anticipation of this growth. The partnership with Blackstone allowed the company to create world-class office spaces and build a portfolio of multinational tenants like Google, IBM, and Warburg Pincus. Virwani focused on building a 'total-business-ecosystem' through campus-style buildings to foster innovation and collaboration among tenants. Moreover, he emphasized long-term rental income over immediate sales and has consistently focused on the next generation of workers. In 2021, Virwani and Warburg Pincus sold their jointly owned Embassy Industrial Parks to Blackstone for $718 million. More recently, Olive by Embassy, the hospitality and co-living subsidiary of the Embassy Group, is investing up to $533 million to build 150 Spark by Hilton hotels across India.
Philanthropy
Virwani is involved in philanthropy and supports 61 government schools across India with infrastructure support, health programs, books, uniforms and stationary, sports and extracurricular activities, career counseling, and an improved quality of education.
