Grant Schietinger, 27
Senior associate at Blackstone
Grant Schietinger was working on the advisory side of real estate investment banking at JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, but he wanted to go bigger. And you don’t get much bigger than Blackstone, the world’s largest owner of commercial real estate.
“I wanted to be part of something that was always on the forefront of investment themes, opportunities and horizons,” Schietinger said. “My initial entry into Blackstone and since I’ve been here continues to prove out that this is a very sophisticated and incredibly uniquely positioned shop that I think provides opportunities for people like myself and also provides opportunities for investors, which we’ve seen via the wins over the years.”
He’s witnessed quite a few wins since the August 2020 career switch. Those include working on some of the biggest hospitality deals of the pandemic era such as Blackstone’s $800 million sale of the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in June 2023 and a $950 million refinancing of CMBS debt tied to San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, also this past June. Schietinger, too, has helped manage and lead transactions and initiatives across Blackstone’s investments in Extended Stay America and Motel 6.
Then there’s the extracurricular work Schietinger has done at the investment giant. That includes helping run Blackstone’s commitment to 2,000 refugee hires at its portfolio companies, as well as helping head both the summer internship program and recruitment for Blackstone Real Estate Group.
Schietinger got into the investment game in part through a speakership series he founded at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It would bring alumni who had become business leaders to speak to students at the business school.
One can’t help but think that Schietinger himself would make a good speaker for the series. Blackstone for the near term is going to be fine, too, even in a hospitality climate still in flux from the pandemic. Schietinger notes the mountainous pile of dry powder the firm has, including through a $30.4 billion global real estate fund that closed in April.
“I think in hospitality and more broadly,” Schietinger said, “you’re going to see really great opportunities come out of an environment like this.”
