LOS ANGELES—Earlier this month, Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc., changed its name to InvenTrust Properties Corp., the final step in becoming an independent brand from its sponsor, Inland Companies. The name change comes after the company successfully completed its self-managed transactions and spun-off its lodging platform. Along with the name change, the company is developing a new identity with a focus on multi-tenant retail acquisitions and student housing markets. To find out more about the name change, the new firm's goals and investment strategy and what the industry can expect, we sat down with InvenTrust Properties president and CEO, Thomas P. McGuinness for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: Please tell me about the history of Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. and why you decided to change your name at this time.

Tom McGuinness: Since our inception in 2005, we amassed a diverse portfolio of retail, hotel, student housing, multifamily, office and industrial asset classes. This size and diversification also required a distinctive strategy, which we have been executing on since 2012. This strategy included focusing and tailoring our portfolio into three distinct platforms: lodging, student housing and multi-tenant retail.