Christopher Uhlick
About Christopher Uhlick
Christopher Michael Uhlick is Star Holdings’ Chief Accounting Officer, effective July 7, 2025; he succeeded Brett Asnas as principal accounting officer while Asnas continues as CFO. Uhlick is 37, a New York–licensed CPA, and holds both a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. from Pace University . Star Holdings is externally managed by a Safehold subsidiary and does not directly compensate executives; Safehold’s performance metrics used for executive compensation are unrelated to Star Holdings’ business . As a result, specific TSR, revenue, and EBITDA growth performance linkages to Uhlick’s pay at Star Holdings are not disclosed .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SL Green Realty Corp. | Senior Vice President, Accounting Policy & Financial Reporting | 2021–2025 | Led accounting policy and financial reporting at a major office REIT |
| W.P. Carey, Inc. | Senior Manager, Financial Reporting | 2017–2021 | Managed SEC reporting for a large net-lease REIT |
| Ernst & Young (EY) | Audit/Financial Reporting (early career) | 2011–2017 | Built foundational public accounting and reporting expertise |
External Roles
No public company board or external governance roles were disclosed for Uhlick in company filings .
Fixed Compensation
- Star Holdings does not pay salary or bonus to executives; all senior executives (including the CAO) are employees of the external manager (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Safehold). Star pays a management fee to the manager and does not reimburse for personnel compensation except up to two dedicated accounting staff; individual base salary, target bonus, and bonus outcomes for Star executives are not disclosed by Star .
- Management fee schedule and structure (context for pay delivery via the manager):
| Term/Policy | Amount/Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual term ended Mar 31, 2024 | $25.0 million | Fixed cash management fee paid to manager |
| Annual term ended Mar 31, 2025 | $15.0 million | Fixed cash management fee paid to manager |
| Next two annual terms | $10.0 million; $7.5 million | Fixed fees for subsequent annual terms |
| Thereafter | 2.0% of gross book value (excl. Safe Shares) | Ongoing fee after initial fixed-fee terms |
| Safehold-reported aggregate compensation paid to Star NEOs (context) | $5.0 million (2024) | Represents 29% of the 2024 management fee; individual breakdowns not segregated for Star |
Performance Compensation
- Star Holdings reports no operative equity incentive plans and granted no equity awards to executives; there were no outstanding stock awards or vesting events during 2024 .
- Safehold indicates its compensation program is pay-for-performance; however, performance metrics used by Safehold for executives (including Star’s shared executives) relate to Safehold’s activities and are unrelated to Star’s business. Star does not provide detail on metric weights or payout formulas for its executives .
- Clawback: Star maintains an exchange rule–compliant clawback policy for erroneously awarded incentive compensation for Section 16 officers in the event of an accounting restatement .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Uhlick is not listed among Star’s beneficial owners in the 2025 proxy as of the March 27, 2025 record date (total shares outstanding were 13,319,552) .
- Insider activity: A Form 4 was filed for “Michael Christopher Uhlick, Chief Accounting Officer” on or around July 8, 2025; investors should review the SEC filing for transaction details and any 10b5-1 plan disclosures .
- Hedging and pledging: Executives are prohibited from hedging company stock; pledging or margin accounts require prior approval under board-approved guidelines .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Uhlick was appointed CAO effective July 7, 2025 and has no family relationships or related party transactions requiring disclosure; no special selection arrangement was disclosed .
- No individual employment agreements: Star reports no executive employment agreements, no automatic single-trigger change-in-control arrangements for its named executive officers, and no pension/deferred compensation plans .
- Indemnification: Star entered indemnification agreements with trustees and executive officers and maintains D&O insurance .
- Management Agreement economics (relevant to retention/transition risk):
- Term/renewal: Auto-renews annually; externally managed structure .
- Termination by Company without cause before 4th anniversary of spin: Termination fee of $55.0 million minus management fees paid to date; alternate fee construct if assets are fully liquidated by termination date .
- Termination by manager if assets fall below thresholds: $15.0 million (second year) or $5.0 million (third year), plus any unpaid annual management fee balance .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment at Star is structurally limited: Star does not directly pay or grant equity to executives; compensation is delivered via Safehold’s program, and Safehold’s metrics do not relate to Star’s asset monetization strategy. This reduces direct linkage between Star’s TSR/financial outcomes and Uhlick’s pay incentives at the issuer level .
- Governance safeguards mitigate misalignment risks: Clawback for restatements and strict hedging/pledging restrictions reduce adverse incentive behaviors and selling/pledging pressure .
- Retention and change-of-control dynamics are driven by the Management Agreement, not individual contracts: The sizable termination fees and auto-renewal structure point to stability in external management; individual severance or change-of-control economics for Star executives are not disclosed, implying limited issuer-level guarantees for Uhlick .
- Trading signals: Monitor future Form 4 filings for Uhlick to assess any equity accumulation or dispositions and whether a 10b5-1 plan is in place. The initial appointment 8-K provides background but no transaction details; ongoing filings will be key for gauging potential insider selling pressure .