Companies & People: Ventas veteran shares his vision for new venture

Will Germain is joined by Mark Furlan and Damian Donati at MCB Science + Health

By John B. Mugford

In case you missed the news – which you might have since it broke last Tuesday (May 31), right after many of us returned to work after the Memorial Day weekend – long-time Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) executive Wilkingson “Will” Germain has left the company to become CEO and co-founder of a brand-new venture, MCB Science + Health.

So as we eventually caught up with work Tuesday and the news began to sink in, we had to ask ourselves: What would prompt Mr. Germain, who has made quite a name for himself in the healthcare real estate (HRE) space, to trade his high-level executive position with one of industry’s largest and most successful companies to take charge of a start-up?

To answer that question, HREI reached out this week to the affable Mr. Germain who – not surprisingly, judging by his track record – has clear objectives and a seemingly viable strategy in mind for the new venture.

But before we get to HREI’s exclusive interview with Mr. Germain, here’s a bit of background.

For the past 16 years, Mr. Germain has had a major focus on investments and acquisitions at, as noted above, Chicago-based Ventas, one of the largest publicly traded, HRE-focused real estate investment trusts (REITs), as well as its medical office building (MOB) arm, Lillibridge Healthcare Services.

During his career, Mr. Germain has been involved in more than $20 billion worth of transactions, most recently serving as senior investment officer and focusing on growing Ventas’ life sciences, research and innovation portfolio by more $4 billion and more than 7 million square feet.

Now, as the new co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based MCB Science + Health, Mr. Germain is