Blackstone Taps New BREIT President as Agarwal Goes on Leave (1)

Blackstone Inc.’s $68 billion real estate trust said its president A.J. Agarwal will go on a sabbatical for nine months and Rob Harper will fill that role.

Agarwal will be on a continuing education sabbatical starting Sept. 15 and will serve as an observer of the board throughout that time, according to a filing Tuesday from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. Harper, who joined the private equity firm in 2002, is currently BREIT’s head of asset management.

Blackstone built BREIT into a massive player in the real estate industry, but the trust’s growth streak has come under pressure in ...