Walking A Path Of His Own Making & Staying Ahead Of The Curve

Jitu Virwani has always been known to eschew the conventional. He is also known for his keen eye in spotting an opportunity. The Two traits when acting in conjunction, makes him an entrepreneur who creates his own success mantra

- Bindu Gopal Rao

For someone who has single handedly changed the perception of luxury realty developments in Bengaluru, Jitu Virwani, is a clear winner thanks to intelligent thinking combined with an innovative approach. Focusing on quality, his company, Embassy Group is today one of the leading names in the country as far as real estate developers are concerned. Forging partnerships has been a key strength too as seen in the recent case when Piramal Finance (PFL), the lending arm of Piramal Enterprises financed `1100 crore to the Embassy Group for residential and commercial projects in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. With over 25 years of experience in the real estate and property development sector, Jitu is the Chairman and Managing Director of the company and is also a member of the Young Presidents Organisation and a member of the Equestrian Federation of India. A self confessed horse lover, he owns one of India’s largest privately owned horse riding academies situated in Bengaluru and has founded the Stonehill International School, Bengaluru. He tells us more in this exclusive tête-à-tête.

Tell us about your early days and growing up years.

I was introduced to the real estate world quite early and learned the ropes of the business by observing my father Mohan Virwani who was a developer in Bengaluru. I regularly visited my father’s construction sites and even while I was driven away several times, I would keep going back there. I was assigned the complex task of getting permissions from government departments. This exercise made me learn patience which is a very important quality one should possess in this line of business.

Did you always have the entrepreneurial spirit in you?