Manulife US Reit’s new CEO keen to tap co-working, tailwind sectors for growth

THE US office sector is facing its greatest identity crisis yet, as Covid-19 ushered in an era of hybrid work, and Tripp Gantt has just taken over the reins at pure-play US office real estate investment trust (Reit) Manulife US Reit : BTOU 0% (MUST).

Gantt, who was most recently the second-in-command of the real estate division of Washington State Investment Board (WSIB), a US pension fund with a US$29.6 billion in real estate assets under management (AUM), believes he is the right man for the job.

“My job has always been to look at both macroeconomic trends, sociological trends, and see opportunities that other people don’t see, and capitalise on them, and be decisive, take action, and actually make them happen,” Gantt told The Business Times.