Carlos Whitaker
About Carlos Whitaker
Carlos Whitaker (born 1976) is President of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) and a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone; he has served as BXSL’s President since his appointment effective September 7, 2021, with an indefinite term of office . He previously spent 21 years at Credit Suisse in senior equity advisory sales roles; he holds a BBA in Accounting and an MPA, along with a BA from the University of Texas at Austin (Plan II Honors), graduating with honors . Since his 2021 arrival, BXSL’s reported net income rose from $460.4 million in FY 2021 to $694.1 million in FY 2024, underscoring strong earnings through the period .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Suisse (Investment Banking/Global Markets) | Head of New York Advisory Sales; Co‑Head of EMEA Equity Advisory Sales | 2000–2021 | Led relationships with large institutional investors; grew revenues; marketed IPOs/secondaries; cross-sold bank products across strategies (long-only, L/S equity, event-driven, risk arb, global macro) . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED) | President | 2021–present | Leadership role across Blackstone’s flagship private BDC platform aligned with BXSL strategy . |
| Blackstone Private Multi-Asset Credit & Income Fund (BMACX) | Co‑President | 2025–present | Product leadership across multi‑asset credit & income strategies . |
| New York for McCombs (UT Austin) | Board member | N/A | External network and university engagement . |
| Rising Stars Capital Management (non‑profit) | Board member | N/A | Diversity advocacy in finance . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Company Policy/Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not paid by BXSL | “None of our executive officers will receive direct compensation from the Company.” BXSL reimburses only allocable portions for CFO/CCO/admin staff time . |
| Target/Actual bonus | Not paid by BXSL | Executive bonuses, if any, are paid by the Adviser (not disclosed by BXSL) . |
| Equity incentives (RSUs/PSUs/options) | Prohibited at company level | As a BDC, BXSL is prohibited from issuing equity incentive compensation to officers and trustees . |
| Trustee/Board-related pay | Not applicable (officer, not trustee) | Independent Trustee compensation disclosed separately; Interested Trustees/officers receive none from BXSL . |
Performance Compensation
| Item | Structure | Metrics/Weighting | Payout/Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company equity awards (RSUs/PSUs/options) | Not applicable | None (prohibited) | None (prohibited) . |
| Clawback policy | Adopted to comply with NYSE rules | Applies to incentive-based compensation of covered executives | BXSL currently neither pays nor plans to pay incentive comp to covered executives; policy nonetheless adopted . |
BXSL’s externally managed structure means incentive design, targets, and payouts (if any) reside at Blackstone Private Credit Strategies LLC and are not disclosed in BXSL filings .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Snapshot Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | Ownership % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 8, 2024 | 3,895 | <1% | Officer share count as disclosed; amounts round to less than 1% . |
| June 27, 2025 | 3,895 | <1% | No change vs. 2024 snapshot; amounts round to less than 1% . |
- Hedging/Pledging: BXSL states it does not have a hedging policy for executive officers and trustees; no specific pledging disclosures are provided in the proxy .
- Ownership guidelines: No officer stock ownership guidelines disclosed in BXSL filings; trustees’ dollar ranges disclosed separately (not applicable to Whitaker as an officer) .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Appointment/start date | Board approved; effective September 7, 2021; announced September 9, 2021 . |
| Position/term | President; officer since 2021; term of office: indefinite . |
| Employment agreement | Not disclosed by BXSL (officers are employees of the Adviser) . |
| Severance/Change‑of‑Control | Not disclosed by BXSL (no company‑level executive comp program) . |
| Non‑compete/Non‑solicit/Garden leave | Not disclosed by BXSL (would be at Adviser level if applicable) . |
| Clawback | Policy adopted; company currently does not pay incentive comp to covered executives . |
Performance & Track Record (Company context)
| Metric ($USD) | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income - (IS) | $460,422,000 | $404,556,000 | $611,951,000 | $694,097,000 |
Notes: BXSL is an externally managed BDC; operating drivers include net investment income, base/incentive fees, portfolio yields, and credit losses. Executive officer compensation is not paid or reported at the company level, limiting direct pay‑for‑performance evaluation within BXSL filings .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: With company equity incentives prohibited and Whitaker’s beneficial ownership at 3,895 shares (<1%), there is limited direct equity‑based selling pressure from vesting/option exercises at the BXSL entity; alignment via company stock is modest .
- Compensation transparency: BXSL’s executives are paid by the external adviser; compensation structure, performance metrics, and severance/change‑of‑control economics are not disclosed in BXSL filings, reducing visibility into pay‑for‑performance and retention signals at the company level .
- Governance safeguards: A clawback policy is in place per NYSE rules, but the company does not currently pay incentive comp to covered executives; BXSL also discloses no hedging policy for officers/trustees, offering mixed signals on governance strictness for personal trading practices .
- Track record context: Company net income expanded meaningfully from FY 2021 to FY 2024 during Whitaker’s tenure, reflecting favorable credit earnings dynamics; however, attribution to any single officer is limited by the externally managed platform structure .
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