The Realty World And A Baton Change

Meet the young leaders being tasked with steering the country's family-run real estate companies

- Madhurima Nandy

By 10 each morning, Neel Virwani, the youngest son of Embassy Group chairman Jitu Virwani, is at their office in 'Embassy ONE', a premium mixed-use property, in Bengaluru. During his 10-hour days, Neel, 25, attends high-level meetings and discussions on projects at different stages—from land to launch.

In April, Neel, whose official designation is promoter, Embassy Developments Ltd, completed a year in the family business, which he joined after graduating from Hult International Business School in London. Like his elder siblings Karan (33) and Aditya (31), Neel trained under his father for the first ten months. He is currently 'shadowing' elder brother Aditya, the managing director of Embassy Developments, to learn the ropes. In between, he also worked with Karan, managing director and CEO of managed workspace operator WeWork India, promoted by Embassy Group.

"In India, business is done through relationships and trust. The key thing I learnt from my father was people skills, analysing deals, how he looks at a piece of land, handling business partners, as well as how to do business with friends," said the youngest Virwani.

If the pandemic hadn't happened, Shivam Agarwal, who was working at a digital political marketing company in Washington, may have joined Sattva Group, also based in Bengaluru, a year later. But the world was going to shut down, prompting him to return to India in 2020 and join the family business. "I worked on a few land and financing deals in the beginning. The two years I shadowed my father, I learnt more than I achieved," said Shivam, 28, vice president, strategic growth.