Executive Team

Professional Experience

• President & CEO, Granite Point Mortgage Trust (2017-present)
• Global Head of Commercial Real Estate, Pine River Capital Management (2014-2020)
• Managing Director, Head of Global Real Estate Finance, Member of the Global Management Committee and Chair of the Global Investment Committee for debt and equity, Prudential Real Estate Investors (now known as PGIM Real Estate Company) (2009-2014)
• Partner, Five Mile Capital Partners (2003-2007)
• Co-Head of Real Estate Investment Banking for the Americas and Europe, UBS
• Head of Real Estate Group and Member of the Operating Committee, PaineWebber
• Head Trader & Manager of CMBS and Principal Commercial Mortgage business, Kidder, Peabody & Co.

Organizations

• Founding Governor & Member, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (formerly known as the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association)
• Member, President’s Council of the Real Estate Roundtable
• Chairman of the Board, Innocence Project, an organization that works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions and create fair, compassionate and equitable systems of justice for everyone, guided by science and grounded in antiracism

Education

• JD, Yale Law School
• MSc, International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science
• BA, University of Illinois

Stephen Alpart is our Vice President and Chief Investment Officer and has served in that role since the Company’s inception. Mr. Alpart is also our Co-Head of Originations and a member of our Investment Committee. From 2014 to 2020, he was a Managing Director at Pine River Capital Management L.P., our Former Manager. Prior to joining Pine River, he was Managing Director in the Global Real Estate Finance Group at Prudential Real Estate Investment (now PGIM Real Estate) 2009 to 2014, responsible for managing a series of close-end debt funds in the United States. Previously, he was a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at GMAC Commercial Mortgage and Capmark Investments where he focused on originating, underwriting and closing large structured commercial real estate loans for private equity firms and private owner/operators. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group at PaineWebber & Co., an investment bank and stock brokerage firm, and later an Executive Director in the Real Estate Group of UBS Group AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, where he focused on originating, underwriting and closing large structured commercial real estate loans for private equity firms and owner/operators. He has worked in real estate finance and debt investing for over 25 years in a variety of functions, including third-party funds management, proprietary on-book lending, transaction advisory business, loan syndications, loan sales and workouts/restructurings. Mr. Alpart received a Masters in Business Administration, Finance and Real Estate from New York University and a B.S. in Business Administration, Accounting and Economics from Washington University.

Michael J. Karber is our Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. He has been with the Company since its inception, previously serving as our Deputy General Counsel from 2018 to 2019 and our Assistant Secretary from 2018 to 2020. Prior to joining the Company, he was Lead Counsel – Business Operations at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO), a hybrid mortgage real estate investment trust, beginning in 2014. Prior to joining Two Harbors, he was a Portfolio Manager at Presidium Asset Solutions, an asset management and loan servicing company, from 2010 to 2014, and from 2007 to 2009 he was an Associate at Pircher, Nicols & Meeks LLP (now known as Holland & Knight). Prior to that, Mr. Karber was an Associate at Schwartz Cooper Chartered (now known as Dykema Gossett PLLC). Mr. Karber received a J.D. from Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Peter Morral is our Vice President and Chief Development Officer and has been with the Company since its inception. Mr. Morral is also our Co-Head of Originations and a member of our Investment Committee. From 2014 to 2020, he was a Managing Director at Pine River Capital Management L.P., our Former Manager. Prior to joining Pine River, Mr. Morral served as a Managing Director in Annaly Capital’s Commercial Real Estate Group. Prior to joining Annaly Capital, Mr. Morral was a Managing Director and member of the Investment Committee at UBS Securities, LLC where he was responsible for institutional client and large loan originations, investment banking coverage, subordinate debt pricing and distribution and loan syndications. Mr. Morral has worked in real estate finance and debt investing for over 20 years in a variety of functions, including on-balance sheet lending, syndications and investing, credit policy and underwriting, and CMBS loan originations, pricing, ratings and credit distribution. Mr. Morral received an M.B.A. from the Ohio State University and a B.L.A. in History from the University of Connecticut.

Steven Plust is our Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and has served in that role since the Company’s inception. Mr. Plust is also a member of our Investment Committee. From 2014 to 2020, he was a Managing Director at Pine River Capital Management L.P., our Former Manager. Prior to joining Pine River, Mr. Plust was a Managing Director in the Global Real Estate Finance Group at Prudential Real Estate Investment (now PGIM Real Estate) 2009 to 2014, responsible for managing a series of close-end debt funds in the United States. He has over 25 years of experience in real estate finance and capital markets, and was an advisor to the Resolution Trust Corporation in the development and implementation of its securitization programs. Mr. Plust has worked for over 20 years in principal investing platforms on Wall Street and in investment management, where he has been primarily responsible for transaction pricing and structuring, credit risk assessment and analysis of complex transactions and multi-asset portfolios. He received an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Marcin Urbaszek is our Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Head of Investor Relations and has served in those roles since the Company’s inception. He joined Pine River Capital Management L.P., our Former Manager, in May 2013 and, until the formation of the Company, served as a Managing Director of Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO), a hybrid mortgage real estate investment trust, focusing on corporate development and capital markets activities. Prior to joining Pine River, Mr. Urbaszek worked at Credit Suisse Group AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, in the Investment Banking Division from 2006 to April 2013, most recently serving as a team lead and partner on coverage and strategic transaction execution for various financial institutions, including residential and commercial mortgage lenders. He has over 20 years of finance experience, including capital markets and equity research, with the last 15 years dedicated to financial institutions. Over the course of his career, Mr. Urbaszek has been primarily responsible for strategic and capital raising transaction execution, as well as financial planning and analysis. Mr. Urbaszek received a B.B.A. in Finance, with a Minor focused on Financial Accounting and Economics, from Zicklin School of Business, Bernard M. Baruch College, CUNY. Mr. Urbaszek is a CFA® charterholder.