Patrick G. Halter

About Patrick G. Halter

Patrick G. Halter, age 65, was appointed to Granite Point’s Board in January 2025 and is an independent director serving on the Compensation Committee. He is the former CEO and President of Principal Asset Management (2018–2024) and previously led Principal Real Estate Investors (2003–2016); he holds an MBA and BBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Board has affirmatively determined that Mr. Halter is independent under NYSE standards. Appointment effective date: January 15, 2025.

Past Roles

External Roles

The 2025 proxy does not disclose other current public company directorships for Mr. Halter.

Board Governance

• Board role: Independent Director; Compensation Committee member (not Chair).
• Appointment date: January 15, 2025 (appointed to the Board and to the Compensation Committee).
• Independence: Board-determined NYSE independence.
• Board/Committee cadence (2024): Board 9; Audit 8; Compensation 10; Nominating & Corporate Governance 5.
• Executive sessions: Independent directors meet in executive session at each Board meeting.
• Attendance: The company reports each director (serving in 2024) attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings in 2024; Mr. Halter was appointed in 2025 (2024 attendance not applicable).
• Director commitments policy: Directors may not serve on more than three other public boards (CEOs limited to one).

Fixed Compensation

Director Compensation Policy (annualized amounts; paid 50% cash, 50% RSUs; RSUs vest in one year; DERs on RSUs)

• Pro-ration and vesting for mid-cycle appointees: Independent directors who join between annual meetings receive a prorated RSU award on the appointment date that vests on the first anniversary of the prior year’s annual meeting; cash retainers are paid quarterly in arrears.
• 2025 expected grants: RSUs with aggregate grant-date value of $707,500 expected to be granted to independent directors at the 2025 Annual Meeting (subject to plan approval); units determined by the closing price on the grant date.
• Stock ownership guidelines: Each independent director is expected to hold GPMT common stock with market value ≥ 3x annual cash retainer within five years; until met, retain at least 50% of shares issued on settlement (net of taxes). Unvested RSUs count.

Performance Compensation

• Directors do not receive performance-based awards; equity is delivered as time-based RSUs with DERs. The company does not grant options and has no plans to grant options.

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Related person transactions: Policy requires Audit Committee approval; 2024 disclosures include customary indemnification agreements for directors and officers; no other related-person transactions with directors are disclosed.
• Indemnification: Standard form indemnification agreement was entered into with Mr. Halter upon appointment.

Expertise & Qualifications

• Real Estate/REIT leadership: Decades in real estate investing; led Principal Real Estate Investors (top 10 global real estate manager under his leadership).
• Strategic opportunities/balance sheet management: Oversaw operations, investment, and distribution as CEO/COO of Principal Asset Management.
• Finance/accounting literacy and internal controls oversight.
• Credit/principal investing across >$650B AUM platform.
• Operations and management across global teams; investor perspective via mutual fund board and ICI Board of Governors.
• Education: MBA (Finance, Investment & Banking) and BBA, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Equity Ownership

• Shares outstanding reference date: 48,246,760 common shares and 8,229,500 preferred shares outstanding as of March 15, 2025.
• Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for officers, directors and employees by policy.
• Director stock ownership guidelines: 3x cash retainer within five years; unvested RSUs count; 50% post-vest retention until met.

Governance Assessment

• Positives

  • Independent appointment via third-party search firm; strengthens board refreshment and independence optics.
  • Deep REIT/credit investing and real estate operating experience directly aligned with GPMT’s strategy; adds balance sheet and risk oversight skills to Comp Committee.
  • All board committees are fully independent; independent Chair; regular executive sessions; robust director education.
  • Director pay balanced 50/50 cash/equity with one-year vest and DERs; clear ownership guidelines (3x cash retainer) promote alignment; no stock options.
  • No related-party transactions disclosed involving Mr. Halter; standard indemnification only.

• Watch items

  • Statement in appointment press release noting a long-standing relationship with the CEO (“I have known and admired Granite Point’s CEO… for decades”) could be an optics consideration; the Board nonetheless determined NYSE independence.
  • As a 2025 appointee, individual attendance data will be assessable in the next proxy; 2024 threshold disclosure does not cover him.

• Compensation Committee effectiveness

  • Committee engages an independent compensation consultant and considers cross-company benchmarks, time demands, company success, and risk in director pay design.
  • Mr. Halter is an active member; signed the Compensation Committee Report in 2025 (with Chair Hope B. Woodhouse and Tanuja M. Dehne).

Board Governance (Detail)

Director Compensation (Context)

Note: Mr. Halter joined in 2025 and was to receive pro-rated compensation per policy.

Other Signals

• Governance highlights: Independent Chair, independent committees, majority voting, annual elections, director education, stock ownership guidelines, no hedging/pledging.
• Communications and engagement: Board provides channels for investor communication; undertakes regular investor outreach on governance and compensation.