Stephanie McGowan Shapes Blackstone’s Bet on Necessity Retail

From Analyst to Managing Director With a Long View on Retail

Stephanie McGowan, who has just been named an ICSC 4 Under 40 honoree, has risen through the ranks from entry-level analyst at Blackstone to a real estate group managing director overseeing U.S. retail and office investments for the alternative asset management giant.

The New York-based executive says it all began when someone took an interest in her career back when she was a student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I started college thinking I would go into public policy or law, but then someone suggested that I apply to the business school,” McGowan recalled. “I reflect on that moment a lot. If I hadn’t had that exposure early on, I would never have ended up where I am and had this incredibly fulfilling career journey.”

It’s part of why McGowan is so intent on giving back. In addition to co-chairing the Blackstone Women’s Initiative, the 35-year-old is an active ICSC and nonprofit volunteer. “We recently planned an exciting ICSC event designed to open the eyes of college sophomores and juniors to what a job looks like investing in retail and shopping centers,” she said. “We broke down the anatomy of a deal from all sides — due diligence, structuring and investing — and had each group present on whether or not we should buy the property and the business plan.”

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Applying Investment Discipline to Blackstone’s Retail Strategy

It’s the kind of question McGowan tackles every day at Blackstone. Her perspective and insights have helped shape the firm’s over 30 million-square-foot U.S. retail portfolio, which comprises more than 250 predominantly open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers, managed by Perform Properties and through Edens. Blackstone made a major investment in Edens in 2013.

Last year, McGowan contributed to the investment strategy that led to the privatization of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. The deal was an expression of Blackstone’s confidence in necessity-based, grocery-anchored retail centers in supply constrained markets, McGowan said. “We bought and took private a $4 billion company to make a big investment in retail,” she noted. “Despite all that retail has been through, a couple of key principles have been resilient: There has been very limited new retail supply in the United States, really for the past 15 years, and demand for new store openings continues to be strong, translating to accelerating rent growth. It’s a very good supply-demand picture.”

Going All In on Her Career

McGowan’s first exposure to real estate came when she was a junior at UNC and took an investment banking internship in the real estate gaming and lodging group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The position gave her the opportunity to learn about real estate investment strategy and provide financing and transaction advice to clients. “I was learning far beyond anything I had expected and saw the potential value of a career in real estate,” McGowan recalled. “I went into full focus and worked as hard as I could to get an offer to come back full-time.”

She achieved that goal after graduating Phi Beta Kappa with honors from UNC, returning to the same Bank of America group. For the next year, McGowan dove into the finer points of creating financial models and presentations. “I lived and breathed in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint and took on any task they would throw at me,” she said. “I had the chance to work on M&A transactions and equity and debt financings across a swath of real estate companies. It was a diverse experience that involved an immense amount of learning.”

When McGowan started as a Blackstone analyst in 2014, her focus shifted from advising and pitching investment banking clients to driving real estate value via strategic asset management. That included getting to know Blackstone’s growing list of retail investments, joint ventures and platforms. “I quickly realized what a different asset class retail is,” McGowan recalled. “You have to learn the individual retailers, their focus, their goals and the customers they serve.”

Retail’s dynamism and local focus appealed to McGowan. “To make the right investment decisions, you need to make sure you understand the market, the shopper in that market and retailer performance,” she explained. Learning how to align with retailers to drive asset value has been satisfying, as well. “If we’re a good owner and put the right tenants and capital in a center, those tenants will be more successful,” McGowan said. “That makes us more successful in turn and improves communities.”

In her more than 11 years at Blackstone, McGowan has watched its real estate group grow in complexity and scale. Her asset management skills have evolved, as well, due in no small part to her exposure to veterans like real estate group senior managing director Andy Drasites. “Andy had deep retail experience and went above and beyond to teach, train and mentor me, so I feel really lucky,” McGowan said. “I’ve also had the opportunity to drive investor returns by partnering day to day with our incredible portfolio companies and partners, having access to different perspectives and data.”

Giving Back to Her Industry and Community

McGowan is passionate about supporting others, especially as her own career has advanced. In 2022, she began co-chairing the Blackstone Women’s Initiative, which focuses on career development, networking and mentoring and helps shape Blackstone’s recruiting strategy. “I feel very blessed that I come from a family that gave me every reason to believe I could be anything I wanted to be,” she said. “I want to show others that a career in this space is worth pursuing; the exposure you can get, the financial independence you can build and the professional growth makes you better in your personal life. For me, it has been so worth it.”

She also has worked with Blackstone to support communities in need. After the January 2025 Southern California wildfires forced the closure of Odyssey Charter School in Altadena, the real estate group teamed with several portfolio companies to help the students. “We were able to use space at one of our retail assets, One Colorado in Pasadena, to enable the students to finish out their year,” McGowan said. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation also gave a total of $500,000 to Odyssey and various fire relief foundations.

As part of the Blackstone Gives Back Challenge, the firm also gave $100,000 to Part of the Solution after McGowan pitched the idea to Blackstone president and COO Jon Gray and multiple Blackstone partners. Founded in 1982, the Bronx, New York-based nonprofit offers free services like a mail room, groceries, meals, hot showers, haircuts — as well as access to medical, dental, legal and personal development services — to those in need. McGowan has volunteered with POTS since her youth and now serves on the board. “POTS welcomes all who come to its doors with respect, meets people at their level and addresses their holistic self,” she said. “I have always felt it was an organization well ahead of its time.”

Looking Ahead — At Work and Beyond

McGowan lives in New York City with her husband Cord. They recently married and enjoy skiing, travel and playing racquet sports, especially padel.

McGowan was grateful to receive the ICSC 4 Under 40 honor, in part because of its potential to lead to even more learning and networking in the Marketplaces Industry. “It brings with it opportunities to engage with the ICSC Board of Trustees,” she said, “so I’m very excited and hope I can make a meaningful contribution.”