Jitendra Virwani
Chairman and Managing Director
Embassy Group
Jitu Virwani is the Chairman & Managing Director of Embassy Group, India’s leading property developer. Over the last three decades, Embassy together with its promoters has developed over 55 million sq ft. of commercial, residential, industrial & warehousing, retail and hospitality spaces in India and overseas.
Embassy Group’s India operations span Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Kolkatta, Hyderabad, Pune, Trivandrum, Hosur, and currently it has international operations at Serbia in Eastern Europe and has also completed projects in Malaysia. Embassy’s commercial tenant relationships include the world’s leading corporations such as IBM, Microsoft, Fidelity, TCS, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Yahoo, Goldman Sachs and Swiss Re, among others. Today, Embassy is one of the leading providers of IT/ITES space in the country.
Jitu joined the property development business in 1985, at the age of 19. From 1993, he has been at the helm of affairs of the company and seen his vision for a world class property development organisation, both in terms of size and excellence, transform into reality. Starting his career as the liaison executive in the organization, Jitu managed and led the company during the most challenging and exciting periods in the history of the real estate industry. His expertise and experience permeate the entire spectrum of the property development scenario in India. In the year 2018, Embassy was a sponsor of India’s first REIT, the largest office REIT in the Asia pacific. The Group has partnered with global investors including Blackstone and Warburg Pincus at the group and project levels.
Apart from real estate, Jitu has built and developed properties around education. In 2008, Jitu built Stonehill International School in North Bangalore. It was one of the first schools in Bangalore to offer all the three IB programmes. With highly trained international faculty, a culturally diverse school community and world class infrastructure spread across a 34 acre campus, Stonehill International School is one of the most preferred international schools in Bangalore today. Jitu believes that Education is the propelling force for economic development and progress. In line with his vision, he has incorporated Embassy Education which will drive significant initiatives establishing educational institutions in India.
Jitu is also a dedicated equestrian and owns and maintains a state-of-the-art international riding academy in Bangalore. The school provides training in equestrian sports & boasts of a highly accomplished equestrian team, competing at International events and championships.
With several contributions to social causes, Jitu has made a difference in the lives of many. He is committed to improving the standards of education and employment in the country and has successfully undertaken and implemented multiple initiatives in these areas. Under Embassy’s CSR initiative, the Group has partnered with 35 Government Schools, benefiting over 7500 students across Bangalore. He is a member of the Room to Read board, a global non-profit organisation that works towards improving literacy and gender equality in education across India and the developing world.
Jitu has been recently honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award at the CREDAI STATECON, Karnataka 2019 among other accolades in the Industry over the past decades.