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In 2019, Neena Reddy was approaching her tenth anniversary at Goldman Sachs. By that time, the Brooklyn native and lawyer had worked mostly in private wealth, leveraged finance, and asset management.
In her role as a vice president and associate general counsel at the iconic financial services company, Reddy had a front-row seat to the most innovative, exciting fast-growth companies in the world. She had handled complex alternative asset management transactions, private equity matters, and hedge fund issues and was ready for a new challenge. She just needed the right opportunity.
That’s when Reddy spoke with Alan Kirshenbaum at Owl Rock, the direct lender founded by Doug Ostrover, Marc Lipschultz, and Craig Packer. Owl Rock specialized in private credit and was aggressively adding middle-market companies to its large investment portfolio.
At the time, Owl Rock was still young (less than three years old) and operated like a start-up. It had just one product and about $10 billion in assets under management. Kirshenbaum needed a business-minded legal leader with expertise in asset management to manage risk and oversee all legal and regulatory matters. He also needed someone capable of building an in-house legal team.
Reddy recognized the potential match right away. “In Owl Rock, I saw the opportunity to capitalize on my expertise to make an immediate impact in a fast-growing environment,” she explains.
After five years and one pandemic, many things have changed for Reddy and the company. In 2021, Owl Rock and Dyal Capital merged to create Blue Owl Capital. The newly formed company started trading on the NYSE as OWL in May 2021.
Blue Owl has seen significant development since Reddy joined in 2019. Then, she was employee 99. Now, she has more than a thousand colleagues and manages the fifty-person legal and compliance team. A series of important acquisitions has been responsible for much of Blue Owl’s growth, and Reddy’s team has played a critical role by performing due diligence checks, negotiating financial terms, and managing large scale transitions.
“Our philosophy is to find amazing targets, integrate them well, and leverage the Blue Owl ecosystem to drive value,” Reddy says. “One plus one equals three is the idea.”
A powerful example of this approach is Blue Owl’s 2021 acquisition of Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a firm with assets of $10.8 billion that specialized in structuring sale-leasebacks and providing strategic capital through a leading triple net lease platform. Oak Street was known for offering innovative and flexible real estate options to corporations, municipal clients, and healthcare organizations. By acquiring Oak Street’s investment business, Blue Owl provided the firm’s clients with a differentiated set of product offerings.
“Our philosophy is to find amazing targets, integrate them well, and leverage the Blue Owl ecosystem to drive value. One plus one equals three is the idea.”
Neena Reddy
Another recent acquisition primed Blue Owl to move into real estate finance. In the summer of 2024 leaders closed the $170 million deal, which netted them Prima Capital Advisors and its $10 billion in assets. This formed the basis of a strategy to bring its clients high-quality real estate lending capabilities.
Cultural fit plays an important role in any integration, and Reddy says she and her colleagues work overtime to help Blue Owl retain the character that’s made it into a destination workplace. “We’ve been purposeful and vocal about our desire to ensure we’re building this culture the right way,” she explains. “We are collaborative and inclusive, and even in a period of growth through acquisition, we are operating as one company with one overall mission.”
Blue Owl’s leaders are also building a supportive culture for women. Reddy serves as the executive sponsor of the company’s women’s employee resource group, which hosts regular meetings, networking sessions, and other events. Reddy has introduced “horizontal relationships,” or pairings that connect peers for authentic conversations.
In the five years since Reddy joined Blue Owl, the company has gone from $9 billion to $192 billion in assets under management. While it once operated solely as a private credit firm, Blue Owl now has credit, GP strategic capital, and real estate platforms.
Reddy has grown and evolved in step with Blue Owl. After building a legal and compliance team and supporting everything from Blue Owl’s mergers and acquisitions to contract negotiations to employee matters, product launches, real estate issues, and everything in between, she is now operating as a true general counsel. As Reddy continues to guide Blue Owl through complex acquisitions and financial cycles, she embodies the culture behind a dynamic investment asset management company looking to continue its impressive trajectory.
Expertise Spotlight
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“Neena leads the complex and growing legal department of Blue Owl – a multi-faceted public asset manager – with vision, pragmatism, and integrity. She works hand-in-glove with attorneys throughout our firm and has been a tremendous proponent for attorney development. We are proud to be her partner and look forward to working with her for years to come.”
–Your Friends at Kirkland & Ellis
