G. Raymond Zage, III
About G. Raymond Zage, III
Independent director since November 2022; age 55. He is CEO of Tiga Investments (since 2017), former founder/CEO/Chairman of Tiga Acquisition Corp. (the SPAC that combined with Grindr), ex-CEO of Farallon Capital Asia and former VP at Goldman Sachs, with three decades investing across debt, equity, and real estate. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Illinois and currently serves on boards of Whitehaven Coal and PT Lippo Karawaci; he became a Senior Advisor at EDBI in April 2025 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiga Investments Pte. Ltd. | Chief Executive Officer | Nov 2017 – present | Leads investment strategy; broad cross-asset experience . |
| Tiga Acquisition Corp. | Founder, Director, CEO, Chairman | Jul 2020 – Nov 2022 | Sponsored business combination that created Grindr Inc. . |
| Farallon Capital Asia Pte Ltd | Managing Director & CEO; Partner at Farallon | 2002 – Aug 2018 (Farallon Asia CEO); Farallon since Mar 2000 | Ran Asia platform; continues as part-time Senior Advisor . |
| Goldman Sachs (Singapore/NY/LA) | Vice President, Investment Banking Division | Pre-2000 | Investment banking experience across geographies . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Start | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX: WHC.AX) | Director | — | Current board member . |
| PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk | Board of Commissioners | — | Current commissioner . |
| EDBI Pte Ltd | Senior Advisor | Apr 2025 | Joined board in Apr 2021; transitioned to Senior Advisor in 2025 . |
| Farallon Capital Management | Part-time Senior Advisor | — | Ongoing advisory role . |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: None; Zage is not listed on Audit, Compensation, Nominating & Corporate Governance, or Privacy & Trust committees .
- Independence: Grindr’s board identified six independent directors and did not include Zage among them, implying he is not independent under NYSE standards .
- Tenure on GRND board: Since November 2022 .
- Audit committee “financial expert”: Not designated; those designated are Chad Cohen and Nathan Richardson .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 | 2025 (Policy effective June 3, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (Board) | $20,000 | $40,000; paid quarterly . |
| Committee cash (Audit Chair / Member) | $9,000 / $4,000 under prior policy (not applicable to Zage) | $14,000 (Chair) / $6,000 (Member) (not applicable to Zage) . |
| Committee cash (Comp/Nom/Privacy Chair / Member) | $5,000 / $0 under prior policy (not applicable to Zage) | $2,000 (Chair) / $1,000 (Member) (not applicable to Zage) . |
| Annual RSU (Board) | $80,000 equivalent value under prior policy | $140,000 equivalent value; shares determined by 20-day avg close . |
| Committee RSUs (Audit Chair / Member) | $36,000 / $16,000 under prior policy (not applicable to Zage) | $56,000 (Chair) / $24,000 (Member) (not applicable to Zage) . |
| Committee RSUs (Comp/Nom/Privacy Chair / Member) | $20,000 / $0 under prior policy (not applicable to Zage) | $8,000 (Chair) / $4,000 (Member) (not applicable to Zage) . |
| 2025 supplemental RSUs due to policy increase | Pro-rated supplemental RSUs granted to continuing directors; vest July 19, 2025 (excludes Cohen) | Applies to continuing directors; Zage expected to receive pro-rated supplemental award . |
- 2024 Director Compensation: Zage received $20,000 in cash fees and $81,117 in stock awards (aggregate grant-date fair value), total $101,117 .
Performance Compensation
- Grindr does not disclose performance-based metrics for non-employee director compensation; director RSUs vest quarterly/time-based, not tied to revenue/EBITDA/TSR goals .
No director-specific performance metric table is disclosed for Zage .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Potential Interlock/Transaction |
|---|---|---|
| Whitehaven Coal | Director | External; no disclosed GRND transaction . |
| PT Lippo Karawaci | Board of Commissioners | External; no disclosed GRND transaction . |
| Entities controlled by Zage (Tiga 88, Big Timber) | Shareholders | Parties to the Amended & Restated Registration Rights Agreement entered at the business combination closing; provides resale registration rights for significant holders (including Zage-controlled entities) . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep investment experience across public/private markets and geographies; former Farallon Asia CEO and Goldman Sachs VP .
- Board experience in energy (Whitehaven Coal) and Indonesian conglomerates (Lippo Karawaci) .
- Finance/accounting education (University of Illinois) .
- Not designated as an audit committee financial expert at GRND; no current GRND committee roles .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiga Investments Eighty-Eight Pte. Ltd. (“Tiga 88”) | 85,926,333 | — | 100% controlled by Zage; pledged to lenders under financing—RED FLAG (pledging) . |
| Big Timber Holdings, LLC (“Big Timber”) | 1,060,507 | — | 100% controlled by Zage . |
| G. Raymond Zage (direct) | 6,724,435 | — | Personal holdings . |
| RSUs vesting ≤ Aug 3, 2025 | 2,179 | — | Included in beneficial ownership per SEC rules . |
| Total beneficial ownership (Zage, Tiga 88, Big Timber, RSUs) | 93,713,454 | 47.8% | Concentrated control; subject to pledge risk on Tiga 88 shares . |
| Outstanding RSUs (as of Dec 31, 2024) | 5,254 | — | Director RSUs outstanding; not performance-based . |
- Pledging policy and risk disclosure: Grindr highlights lenders’ foreclosure rights on pledged shares by Tiga 88 (43.8% of outstanding) and Longview Grindr (13.6%), potentially causing ownership changes and stock volatility—RED FLAG (pledging) .
Insider Trades
| Date | Security/Action | Quantity | Price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 4, 2025 | Cash exercise of warrants | 25,000 shares | $11.50 | Issued 25,000 shares . |
| Feb 13, 2025 | Cash exercise of warrants | 703,442 shares | $11.50 | Issued 703,442 shares . |
| Feb 19, 2025 | Cash exercise of warrants | 13,920,000 shares | $11.50 | Issued 13,920,000 shares . |
Board Governance
| Topic | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Committees | Zage serves on none of the standing committees (Audit; Compensation; Nominating & Corporate Governance; Privacy & Trust) . |
| Independence | Not among directors affirmed as independent under NYSE rules—therefore not independent . |
| Board/Committee activity levels (2024) | Board met 6 times; Audit 4; Compensation 4; Nominating 1; Privacy & Trust 2. No director-level attendance rates disclosed . |
Governance Assessment
- Ownership concentration and pledging: Zage beneficially owns 47.8% of GRND (via Tiga 88, Big Timber, and direct) with 85.9M shares pledged—material counterparty/foreclosure risk that could trigger ownership shifts and volatility—RED FLAG .
- Independence and committee oversight: Zage is not independent and holds no committee seats, limiting direct involvement in audit, compensation, governance, and privacy oversight; this may reduce perceived checks and balances relative to independent committee members .
- Related-party/holder arrangements: Zage-controlled entities are party to registration rights; large warrant exercises added significant common shares in Feb 2025—monitor for alignment and liquidity effects .
- Director pay alignment: Director compensation increased in 2025 (cash retainer to $40k; annual RSU to $140k). Zage has no committee premiums; director equity vests time-based, not performance-tied, which provides alignment via ownership but lacks explicit performance gating .
- Attendance/engagement signal: Company discloses meeting counts but not director-level attendance; no red flags disclosed on attendance for Zage .
Key implications: The pledging of a controlling stake by Tiga 88 introduces non-trivial governance and market risk; Zage’s non-independent status and absence from oversight committees may be viewed negatively for board effectiveness, but his capital markets expertise and long-term holdings provide alignment and strategic value .