Christian Follmann

About Christian Follmann

Christian Follmann is Chief Operating Officer of Hercules Capital (HTGC), age 42. He first joined the company in 2006 and was promoted to COO in 2022, overseeing the operations function and serving as an officer of select subsidiaries; he holds Bachelor’s degrees in International Business from Northeastern University and Reutlingen University in Germany . Company performance metrics cited in pay-versus-performance disclosures show strong recent results: 2024 TSR of 250.11, ROE of 17.2%, and Net Income of $262,966 thousand .

Past Roles

External Roles

None disclosed in the DEF 14A for Follmann .

Fixed Compensation

Notes:

• Annual bonuses are discretionary (no formulaic targets permitted under the 1940 Act) and sized against company and individual performance, peer-relative ROE/ROA/AASR, and expense ratios .

Performance Compensation

Annual Cash Bonus (Actual)

Equity Awards (Grants)

Stock Awards Vested in 2024

Performance Metrics Linkage (non-formulaic)

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Beneficial ownership (as of April 17, 2025): 121,301 Shares; less than 1% of class; includes 59,503 restricted Shares and 350 Shares held by spouse (disclaimed except to pecuniary interest) .
• Stock ownership guidelines: NEOs required ≥2x salary; Follmann met guideline with 123,482 Shares/RSAs/RSUs as of 12/31/2024 .
• Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policy: Directors, officers, employees prohibited from pledging or margining Shares; hedging/monetization transactions prohibited .
• Options: None held by NEOs; no option grants since 2010 .

Unvested Awards (as of 12/31/2024)

Employment Terms

• Employment agreement: None disclosed for Follmann; equity awards governed by the Equity Plan and standard NEO terms .
• Clawback: Compensation Recoupment Policy covering Section 16 officers (including NEOs); recovery of incentive-based compensation linked to financial reporting measures following restatements, consistent with NYSE standards and SOX 304 .
• Severance/Change-in-Control (CIC): For NEOs other than CEO, unvested RSAs and long-term RSUs vest in full upon death, disability, or CIC (single-trigger for equity). No cash severance multiples disclosed for Follmann .

Potential Payments (as of 12/31/2024)

Compensation Committee Analysis & Governance

• Compensation Committee members (Independent Directors): Gayle Crowell (Chair), DeAnne Aguirre, Wade Loo, Nikos Theodosopoulos; committee report included in proxy .
• Independent compensation consultant: FW Cook; independence assessed and no conflicts identified; advises on NEO compensation, peer group, and best practices .
• Regulatory constraints (BDC under 1940 Act): No formulaic plans; equity plan administered under SEC exemptive orders; can maintain either equity plan or profit-sharing plan, not both .
• Say-on-Pay: 2024 advisory vote approval 90.3% (votes cast) .

Investment Implications

• Pay-for-performance alignment: Cash bonuses are discretionary but explicitly tied to peer-relative ROE/ROA/AASR and shareholder returns; 2024 results were among the highest in the peer group, supporting incentive payouts . Company CAP vs TSR/ROE disclosures also indicate alignment of realized pay with shareholder outcomes (TSR 250.11; ROE 17.2%) .
• Vesting and selling pressure: RSAs create near-term vesting events (1/3 at first anniversary then quarterly over 2 years), which can drive periodic insider share settlements and withholding; Follmann’s Jan 2024 RSA (32,184 shares) begins vesting 01/09/2025, with quarterly tranches through ~01/2027 . Long-term RSUs (e.g., 10,576 granted 12/05/2024) vest only at 7 years, creating strong retention but deferring potential sell pressure to 2031 .
• Retention risk: Significant unvested equity (RSAs and multi-year RSUs) and single-trigger CIC acceleration for equity improve retention under normal course but increase potential value at risk in corporate control events; absence of cash severance multiples for Follmann concentrates retention economics in equity .
• Alignment and governance quality: Follmann meets stock ownership guidelines (≥2x salary) and is subject to anti-hedging/anti-pledging policies and a stringent clawback regime—factors that enhance shareholder alignment and mitigate governance risk . No option use since 2010 reduces repricing risk; no tax gross-ups per corporate governance highlights .

Citations:
About/Background: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:36]**
Performance metrics: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:53]**
Fixed Comp: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:48]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:43]**
Annual Bonus/Comp Process: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:44]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:43]**
Equity Grants/Vesting: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:49]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:46]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:45]**
Vested in 2024: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:51]**
Outstanding Unvested Awards: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:50]**
Ownership & Guidelines: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:7]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:41]**
Policies: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:12]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:6]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:46]**
Severance/CIC table: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:52]**
Committee & Consultant: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:47]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:38]**
Regulatory limitations: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:43]**
Say-on-Pay: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:6]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:57]**
Peer-relative performance context: **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:44]** **[1280784_0001280784-25-000015_htgc-20250424.htm:37]**