# Nirupa Shankar

Nirupa Shankar is an Indian serial entrepreneur and athlete, and the joint managing director of Brigade Group, a publicly traded real estate company based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. She is the daughter of M. R. Jaishankar, who serves as the executive chairman of the company. Before her appointment as Joint Managing Director, she served as the executive director. In 2016, she launched Asia's first real estate accelerator, the Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program (REAP), an initiative to help high-tech start-ups in the real estate sector.
Nirupa was honored as a Young Turk on CNBC and included in Economic Times' 40 under 40 list.
Nirupa is also an athlete who began her running journey in 2015. She joined a local joggers' club, where she encountered the challenges of endurance races. She has participated in marathons and triathlons. In September 2017, she completed her first triathlon, and in 2021, she completed a sprint triathlon in Croatia and later participated in a triathlon in Dubai. She was the only female participant from India in the Ironman triathlon in Copenhagen, Denmark

## Early life and education

Born and brought up in Bangalore, Nirupa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and pursued a master's in management in hospitality from Cornell University. Nirupa worked as a senior business analyst with Ernst & Young LLP in New York, Washington DC, and North Carolina.

## Career

In 2022, Nirupa was appointed as a joint managing director, and her sister Pavitra Shankar assumed the role of managing director at Brigade Group. Nirupa has been with Brigade Group since 2009, where she handles hospitality, office, and retail operations, as well as managing Human Resources, Public Relations, and Innovation functions. The company, a publicly traded real estate and property development firm, was founded by their father, M. R. Jaishankar, in 1986. He currently serves as the executive chairman of the company. Brigade Group operates in multiple locations, such as Mangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chikmagalur, and Ahmedabad, and has received national and international awards in the construction industry.
Nirupa is also a trustee of the Brigade Foundation, a not-for-profit trust established by the Brigade Group.

### Sport career

Following the birth of her first child, Nirupa Shankar started pursuing running in 2015 and joined a local joggers' club, where she discovered the challenges of endurance races.
Nirupa has taken part in marathons and triathlon events. In 2021, she participated in a sprint (short-distance) triathlon in Croatia, beginning her training six months after the birth of her second child.
In March of the same year, she also joined the half Ironman in Dubai. Her training for the 2023 Ironman commenced in January of that year.
In 2023, she competed in the annual Ironman triathlon in Copenhagen, Denmark, held in August. Nirupa was the only Indian female participant in this triathlon, which comprised a 3.8-kilometre swim, a 180-kilometre cycle ride, and a full marathon distance of 42.2 kilometers. In her first attempt at the Ironman, Shankar crossed the finish line in 14 hours, 47 minutes, and 41 seconds.

## Recognition

* 2016: Restaurant Owner of the Year at the Hospitality Leaders’ Industry Choice Awards
* 2020: Her company, Brigade REAP, won the National Startup Awards in the Incubators & Accelerators category.
* 2021: Received ‘ET 40 Under Forty:’ India Inc's Top Young Leaders 2021
* 2023: Listed in the Power List 2023 by Hotelier India
* She received recognition from CNBC as a Young Turk.
* 2024: Business Today's Most Powerful Women 2024 list