MOINA BANERJEE ‘99

When Moina Banerjee ’99 was a student at St. Andrew’s, she didn’t envision that one day, she would be part of a team overseeing the creation of a second Amazon headquarters and transforming the surrounding community. Amazon was an online bookstore in the late ‘90s, and back then, she never intended to work in real estate.

“In high school, I wanted to focus on economics and international relations,” Banerjee said. “Those interests led me to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. I thought that I would pursue a PhD in Economics after graduating or take the foreign service exam to work in government.”

Her intentions changed during the summer between junior and senior year at Georgetown when she was exposed to finance through an investment banking internship at Bank of America in New York.

“I loved the dynamism, the fast pace, and the recommendations being implemented toward tangible results,” Banerjee said. “That experience compelled me to put graduate degree plans on hold and work for a few years.”

After graduating from Georgetown, Banerjee was matched with the real estate investment banking group at Citi. That was her first exposure to real estate. During three years there, she worked on more than 35 transactions spanning capital market issuances, IPOs and M&A. She then returned to school earning an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

After her first year at Wharton, she spent the summer volunteering for a non-profit organization in India and interned in microfinance. Her main goal at the time was to see if she could marry her interest in finance with international development. But despite a very memorable summer, she noticed that she was consistently drawn back to what was happening in the financial markets. This heightened sense of selfawareness led her to refocus on becoming an expert in real estate.

Immediately after completing her MBA, she spent two years in real estate private equity at The Blackstone Group in New York. Afterwards, she moved back to the Washington, D.C., area to join the JBG Companies in 2010. As the company, now known as JBG SMITH, evolved over the past decade, so did her role. Her past roles include Vice President, Senior Vice President, Principal, Executive Vice President, and Head of Capital Markets. In 2021, she was elevated to her current position as Chief Financial Officer. During the same time period, she also started a family. She and her husband, Amol Tripathi, are the proud parents of two boys: Milan (7) and Aarush (5).

“I’ve been fortunate to work on many amazing deals at JBG SMITH with the best team out there,” Banerjee said “Because I have been with the firm for well over a decade, I have had the unique opportunity to play important roles during major growth periods: I was able to help shape the path to taking JBG public through a reverse spin-merger with Vornado’s D.C. real estate portfolio in

2017; I supported the firm’s efforts to build out the finance side of the organization; I’m a founding member of our firm’s women’s initiative, which we created in 2012 to support the professional growth and development at JBG. Most recently, I have had the chance to contribute as the Chief Financial Officer. As a firm, we are shaping the future of the DMV with the development of Amazon’s second headquarters in National Landing. All of what we have been able to do is the result of the collective efforts of our incredible team. It truly takes a village. I feel lucky to have such wonderful co-workers who I can call good friends after all of these years working together.”

Her team has been focused on National Landing, which is nearly 70% of the JBG SMITH portfolio. Phase 1 of the project is 2.1 million square feet and slated to be complete in June. Amazon Fresh and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema have already opened and another 55 new retailers are expected to open between now and 2024. Ground has already been broken on Dining in the Park (a first-of-a-kind dining experience anchored by Michelin Star chef Enrique Limardo’s Surreal) and Water Park, two retail placemaking projects. On top of all that development, the company is planning an enormous digital infrastructure rollout which will include 5G private wireless access across all of National Landing.

It’s all pretty impressive for someone who fell into real estate. As for career advice, Banerjee would tell current

St. Andrew’s students not to be shy about asking for informational interviews.

“Talk to others who have gone down the path and learn about why they chose to pursue a career in certain fields,” Banerjee said. “I’ve always found that learning through conversations really helped me understand what I would probably like or dislike about certain careers. Even though you think you know where you’re going, keep an open mind as you embark on your own journey. Many of the doors that open along the way will lead to places you’d never imagined.”