SEC Form DEF 14A filed by STARWOOD PROPERTY TRUST INC. Starwood Property Trust Inc.

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 ☐ Preliminary Proxy Statement

 ☐ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

 ☐ Definitive Additional Materials

 ☐ Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

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March 21, 2025

 

To the Shareholders of Starwood Property Trust, Inc.:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Starwood Property Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), will be held via live audio webcast on May 1, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STWD2025, to consider and vote on the following matters:

Details concerning those matters to come before the Annual Meeting are set forth in the accompanying Proxy Statement for your review.

The Board of Directors of the Company has fixed March 3, 2025 as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and any meetings held upon adjournment or postponement thereof. Only the holders of record of the Company’s shares of common stock as of the close of business on March 3, 2025 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and any adjournment or postponement thereof.

On or about March 21, 2025, we commenced mailing our Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to Shareholders and posted our proxy materials on www.proxyvote.com, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. For shareholders who already requested to receive a printed set of proxy materials, we mailed this Proxy Statement, the accompanying proxy card and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Shareholders of record may vote their shares by telephone, via the Internet, virtually at the Annual Meeting or, if such shareholder received a printed set of proxy materials, by signing, dating and mailing the proxy card provided with the written proxy materials. Instructions regarding all methods of voting are contained in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or, for printed sets of proxy materials, on the proxy card that is included with the Proxy Statement.

Shareholders are cordially invited to attend the virtual Annual Meeting via live webcast. Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting via the live webcast, please authorize proxies to cast your votes today by following the easy instructions in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or, if you requested a printed set of proxy materials, on the proxy card enclosed with the proxy materials.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

 

Michael M. Rappaport

 

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SHARES BE REPRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING VIRTUALLY OR BY PROXY; PLEASE PROMPTLY VOTE BY TELEPHONE, VIA THE INTERNET OR, IF YOU REQUESTED A PRINTED SET OF THE PROXY MATERIALS, BY MARKING, DATING, SIGNING AND RETURNING A PROXY CARD. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE IN VOTING YOUR SHARES, PLEASE CALL INNISFREE M&A INCORPORATED, THE COMPANY’S PROXY SOLICITOR, TOLL-FREE AT 888-750-5834 (BANKS AND BROKERS MAY CALL COLLECT AT 212-750-5833).

Important Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials for the 2025 Annual Meeting to Be Held on May 1, 2025.

Our proxy materials relating to the Annual Meeting (notice, proxy statement and annual report) are available at www.proxyvote.com and can also be viewed on our website at

 

This Proxy Statement, the accompanying proxy card and the Notice of Annual Meeting are being provided in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Starwood Property Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), for use at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”), to be held virtually, via live webcast, accessible at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STWD2025 on May 1, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and any adjournments or postponements thereof. In accordance with the rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we are making our proxy materials available to our shareholders electronically via the Internet. Accordingly, on or about March 21, 2025, the Company will be mailing a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to our shareholders containing instructions on how to access the proxy materials on the Internet, how to vote online, by telephone and, if desired, how to receive a printed set of proxy materials. For additional details regarding the Annual Meeting and voting generally, please refer to “Information Concerning the Annual Meeting and Voting.”

At the Annual Meeting, the following matters will be voted on:

The members of the Board, who are elected annually, reflect our agility, teamwork and drive for excellence. The members of the Board also bring expertise from key sectors, including real estate, technology/digital, finance/investment, law and management. The Board has unanimously selected each of our current directors, Richard D. Bronson, Jeffrey G. Dishner, Camille J. Douglas, Deborah L. Harmon, Solomon J. Kumin, Fred Perpall, Fred S. Ridley, Barry S. Sternlicht and Strauss Zelnick as nominees for election as directors of the Company. In addition, the Board has nominated Jonathan Pollack for election as a director. Mr. Pollack is the incoming President of Starwood Capital Group, starting on April 1, 2025, and has been appointed to the Board effective April 1, 2025. Each nominee, if elected, will serve for a one-year term expiring at our 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and with each elected director holding office until his or her successor has been elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation or removal.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the election of each of the nominees for director named above. The experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of the nominees are described further in the following table and below:

The biographical information below summarizes each director’s age, term, tenure as a director of the Company, board committee memberships, principal occupation, positions with the Company and business experience, including the experiences, qualifications, skills and attributes that led to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s conclusion that the nominee should stand for election as a director. The information presented below has been confirmed by each nominee for purposes of its inclusion in this Proxy Statement.

 

 

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, as well as the full Board, examines a number of qualifications, attributes and criteria when identifying and selecting candidates to serve as a director. These include a candidate’s experience, skills, expertise, diversity (including gender and racial/ethnic background), age, personal and professional integrity, character, business judgment, time availability, dedication, independence from management and the Company, potential conflicts of interest and such other factors that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers appropriate in the context of the needs of the Board, as discussed in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Our Board—How the Board is Structured and Operates—Board and Committee Meetings—Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.”

The Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) provide that a majority of the entire Board may increase or decrease the number of directors, provided that the number of directors shall never be less than the minimum required by the Maryland General Corporation Law nor more than 15. The Board is currently comprised of nine members, to be become ten members when Mr. Pollack assumes his position as a director of the Company effective April 1, 2025.

At the Annual Meeting, ten directors will be elected to serve on the Board, each to serve for a one-year term expiring at our 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and with each elected director holding office until his or her successor has been elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation or removal. Each nominee has agreed to serve as a director if elected, and the Board expects that each nominee will be available for election as a director. However, if any nominee becomes unavailable or is unwilling to serve as a director for any reason, the proxies may exercise their discretion to vote your shares for such other person as the Board may nominate.

Election of each nominee for one of the ten director positions requires the affirmative FOR vote of a plurality of all votes cast at the Annual Meeting. This means that the director nominee with the most votes for a particular seat is elected for that seat. However, pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, any nominee in an uncontested election who receives a greater number of votes “withheld” from his or her election than votes “for” his or her election will, within five days following the certification of the shareholder vote, tender his or her written resignation to the Chairman of the Board for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will then review the director’s continuation on the Board and recommend to the Board whether the Board should accept such tendered resignation. The Board, after giving due consideration to the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, will make a decision on whether to accept the tendered resignation and promptly disclose its decision and, if applicable, the reasons for rejecting the tendered resignation.

Pursuant to the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board must be comprised of a majority of directors who qualify as independent directors under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). The Board reviews annually the relationships that each director has with the Company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company). Following such annual review, only those directors who the Board affirmatively determines have no material relationship with the Company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company) will be considered independent directors, subject to additional qualifications prescribed under the listing standards of the NYSE or under applicable law. The Board may adopt and disclose categorical standards to assist it in determining director independence. In the event that a director becomes aware of any change in circumstances that may result in such director no longer being considered independent under the listing standards of the NYSE or under applicable law, the director must promptly inform the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

The Board considered all relevant facts and circumstances in assessing director independence and has determined that Mr. Bronson, Ms. Douglas, Ms. Harmon, Mr. Kumin, Mr. Perpall, Mr. Ridley and Mr. Zelnick are each independent directors. Mr. Sternlicht is not an independent director due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, among other positions. Mr. Dishner is not independent due to his position as Executive Vice President of SPT Management, LLC, our Manager, and President of Starwood Capital Group, an affiliate of our Manager. Mr. Pollack is not an independent director due to his incoming position as President of Starwood Capital Group starting on April 1, 2025.

In making these independence determinations, the Board took into account the following relationships as well as the relevant arrangements and transactions described in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions”:

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee coordinates an annual self-assessment of the Board’s performance as well as the performance of each committee of the Board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee discusses the results and then presents the results to the full Board. The assessment includes a review of any areas in which the Board or management believes the Board can enhance its effectiveness. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee utilizes the results of this self-evaluation process in assessing and determining the characteristics and critical skills required of prospective candidates for election to the Board and making recommendations to the Board with respect to assignments of Board members to various committees.

We are proud of our strong corporate governance practices, including:

The Company maintains a corporate governance section on its website to provide relevant information to shareholders and other interested parties. Corporate governance information available on the Company’s website includes the charters of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee of the Board; the Corporate Governance Guidelines of the Company; the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics; and the Company’s Code of Ethics for the Principal Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers of the Company. See: www.starwoodpropertytrust.com, under the heading “Investor Relations” and the subheading “Corporate Governance.” The information is also available in print, mailed without charge, to any shareholder upon written request to the Company’s Secretary at Starwood Property Trust, Inc., 2340 Collins Avenue, Suite 700, Miami Beach, Florida 33139.

Mr. Sternlicht serves as Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman of the Board. At least once every year, the Board reviews the appropriate leadership structure for the Company. The Board believes that our leadership structure best serves the Company with the leader of the Board having valuable substantive knowledge of the Company and the industry in which it operates, balanced with independent leadership provided by our Lead Independent Director. The Board believes that Mr. Sternlicht’s deep understanding of the Company’s business, growth opportunities and challenges enables him to provide strong and effective leadership to the Board and to keep the Board fully informed of important issues facing the Company. Additionally, the Board believes that Mr. Sternlicht’s exceptional leadership and track record of success since his appointment as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at the Company’s inception in 2009 make him uniquely qualified to lead discussions of the Board, foster an important unity of leadership between the Board and management and promote alignment of the Company’s strategy with its operational execution.

Mr. Pollack will become the Vice Chair of the Board effective April 1, 2025. The Vice Chairman is available to consult with the Chairman as needed.

The Board believes the Company’s overall corporate governance policies and practices, combined with the strength of the Company’s independent directors, minimize any potential conflicts that may result from combining the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines contemplate that, if the Chairman of the Board is not an independent director, the independent directors will designate one of the independent directors to serve as Lead Independent Director. Mr. Bronson currently serves as Lead Independent Director. The Lead Independent Director works with the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board to ensure that the Board discharges its responsibilities, has structures and procedures in place to enable it to function independently of management and clearly understands the respective roles and responsibilities of the Board and management. In addition, the Lead Independent Director’s duties include:

The Lead Independent Director has the authority to call meetings of the independent directors and is available for consultation and direct communication with interested parties. In performing these duties, the Lead Independent Director consults with the Chairs of the appropriate committees of the Board and solicits their participation in order to avoid diluting the authority or responsibilities of such committee Chairs.

The Board has four standing committees: an Audit Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, a Compensation Committee and an Investment Committee. The current charters for each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee are available on the Company’s website, www.starwoodpropertytrust.com, under the heading “Investor Relations” and the subheading “Corporate Governance.” Further, the Company will provide copies of these charters, without charge, to any shareholder upon written request to the Company’s Secretary at Starwood Property Trust, Inc., 2340 Collins Avenue, Suite 700, Miami Beach, Florida 33139.

The following descriptions of the functions performed by the committees of the Board are general in nature and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the committees’ respective charters.

The Audit Committee, presently comprised of Mr. Zelnick (Chair), Mr. Bronson, Ms. Douglas and Mr. Perpall, is responsible for the selection, evaluation and oversight of the Company’s independent auditors, as well as oversight of the financial reporting process and internal controls of the Company. Each Audit Committee member is “independent” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. The Board has determined that Mr. Zelnick qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the applicable SEC rules, and the Board has determined that Mr. Zelnick has accounting and related financial management expertise and that each member of the Audit Committee is financially literate within the meaning of the listing standards of the NYSE. The Audit Committee met four times during 2024.

The primary purposes of the Audit Committee are to provide assistance to the Board in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations with respect to matters involving the accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions of the Company and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, (a) assisting the Board’s oversight of (i) the integrity of the Company’s financial statements, (ii) risk management, including oversight of cybersecurity, and the Company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (iii) the Company’s independent auditors’ qualifications and independence, and (iv) the performance of the Company’s independent auditors and the Company’s internal audit function, and (b) preparing the report required to be prepared by the Audit Committee pursuant to the rules of the SEC for inclusion in the Company’s annual proxy statement.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, presently comprised of Mr. Ridley (Chair), Mr. Bronson, Ms. Douglas, Ms. Harmon and Mr. Zelnick, identifies and recommends to the Board individuals qualified to serve as directors of the Company and on committees of the Board, advises the Board with respect to the Board’s composition, procedures and committees, advises the Board with respect to the corporate governance principles applicable to the Company and oversees the evaluation of the Board and the Company’s management. Each Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee member is “independent” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met two times during 2024.

In considering the qualifications, attributes and criteria for serving as a director of the Company, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee examines a candidate’s experience, skills, expertise, diversity attributes, age, personal and professional integrity, character, business judgment, time availability, dedication, independence from management and the Company, potential conflicts of interest and such other relevant factors that the committee considers appropriate in the context of the needs of the Board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not have a formal policy regarding diversity, although diversity is taken into account when evaluating director candidates. One-third of our Board identifies as diverse in terms of gender identity or race/ethnicity.

Once a person has been identified by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee as a potential candidate, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may collect and review publicly available information regarding the person to assess whether the person should be considered further. If the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines that the potential candidate warrants further consideration, a member of the Board will contact the person. Generally, if the person expresses a willingness to be considered and to serve on the Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee requests information from the candidate and reviews the person’s accomplishments and qualifications. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies potential nominees by seeking input from fellow directors, executive officers, professional firms and shareholders and stakeholders.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider director candidates recommended by our shareholders under the same standards in considering director candidates recommended by other sources. However, in addition to taking into consideration the needs of the Board and the qualifications of the candidate, the committee may also consider the number of shares held by the recommending shareholder and the length of time that such shares have been held by such shareholder.

Shareholders may also directly nominate a candidate for Director pursuant to the advance notice provisions of the Company’s Bylaws. Director nominations must be submitted in writing to the Company’s Secretary at Starwood Property Trust, Inc., 2340 Collins Avenue, Suite 700, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 and otherwise satisfy the requirements set forth in the Company’s Bylaws.

While the Board does not maintain an established mandatory retirement age, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will review each director’s continuing Board service upon reaching the age of 77 and every year thereafter. One of the director candidates for re-election, Richard D. Bronson, will be 80 years old at the time of the Annual Meeting. After due consideration, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has determined to nominate Mr. Bronson for re-election at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Bronson brings extensive experience and knowledge in the real estate industry that provides valuable insight into potential investments and the current state of the commercial real estate markets to the Board.

The Compensation Committee, presently comprised of Mr. Bronson (Chair), Mr. Kumin, Ms. Harmon and Mr. Zelnick, oversees the Company’s compensation and employee benefit plans and practices, including its executive compensation plans, and its incentive compensation and equity-based plans. The Compensation Committee also oversees the annual review of the Management Agreement, dated as of August 17, 2009, by and between the Company and the Manager (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “Management Agreement”), and oversees the annual review of the Company’s equity compensation plans.

The primary additional responsibilities of the Compensation Committee include reviewing and discussing with management the Company’s compensation discussion and analysis (the “CD&A”) to be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement or annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and preparing the Compensation Committee Report as required by the rules of the SEC. The Compensation Committee further oversees the review and approval of general compensation pools and plans for the employees of the Company. Each Compensation Committee member is “independent” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. The Compensation Committee met three times during 2024.

The Compensation Committee has the authority to determine the compensation payable to the Company’s directors and to grant awards under the Company’s equity incentive plans and from time to time may solicit recommendations from the Company’s executive officers and/or outside compensation consultants in determining the amount or form of such director compensation or awards. The Compensation Committee also has the authority to review and, where applicable, approve base salary and bonus levels to be paid by an affiliate of the Manager and equity-based compensation to be made to the Company’s

named executive officers. In determining the amount and form of such compensation, the Compensation Committee seeks recommendations from time to time from the Company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and/or outside compensation consultants.

The Compensation Committee has created a special Equity Awards Subcommittee comprised of Mr. Bronson, Mr. Kumin and Mr. Zelnick that is responsible for final approval of all awards and grants issued pursuant to the Company’s incentive-compensation and equity-based plans to members of the Board and officers of the Company, as defined in Rule 16a-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), as well as to the Manager.

The Compensation Committee also oversees risk when it considers granting equity awards to the Manager under the Management Agreement, including with respect to the review of performance-related factors when granting such awards. For example, in evaluating investments and other management strategies, the opportunity to earn incentive compensation based on net income may lead the Manager to place undue emphasis on the maximization of net income at the expense of other criteria, such as the preservation of capital, maintaining sufficient liquidity and/or management of credit risk or market risk, in order to achieve higher incentive compensation. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative. As a result, the Compensation Committee evaluates performance-related factors (such as net income) in conjunction with other key risk exposure factors in making grants to the Manager.

The Compensation Committee also has the authority to form additional subcommittees consisting of at least two directors for any purpose that the Compensation Committee deems appropriate and may delegate to such subcommittees such power and authority as it deems appropriate, except any power or authority required by any law, regulation or NYSE listing standard to be exercised by the Compensation Committee as a whole.

There were no compensation committee interlocks required to be disclosed during the calendar year ended December 31, 2024. The directors who were members of the Compensation Committee during the calendar year ended December 31, 2024 were Mr. Bronson, Mr. Kumin, Ms. Harmon and Mr. Zelnick, none of whom are, or have been, officers or employees of the Company. Other than Ms. Harmon, none of the members of the Compensation Committee were involved in a transaction requiring disclosure by the Company under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. For additional details, see the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions—Medical Office Portfolio Refinancing.”

The Investment Committee, currently comprised of Mr. Sternlicht (Chair), Mr. Dishner, Mr. Kumin, Mr. Perpall and Mr. Zelnick, reviews certain investments made by the Company. Mr. Pollack will join the committee on April 1, 2025 once he assumes his position as a director of the Company. Any proposed investment valued at $250 million up to $400 million of our equity capital will require the separate review and approval of the Investment Committee of the Board and the Investment Committee of the Manager and any proposed investment valued at $400 million or more will require the approval of the full Board and the Investment Committee of the Manager.

The Board regularly engages in succession planning for senior officers of the Company. The Board also has regular and direct exposure to senior leadership in meetings held throughout the year and discusses key leader development and retention.

The Company does not have a formal policy limiting the number of other public company boards of directors upon which a director may sit. However, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers at least annually the number of other public company boards and non-public company boards (or comparable governing bodies) on which a prospective nominee or a director is a member. Although the Company does not impose a limit on outside directorships, it does recognize the substantial time commitments attendant to Board membership and expects that the members of its Board be fully committed to devoting all such time as is necessary to fulfill their Board responsibilities, both in terms of preparation for, and attendance and participation at meetings.

In addition, in recognition of the enhanced time commitments associated with membership on a public company’s audit committee, the Board has adopted a policy that no member of the Audit Committee may serve simultaneously on the audit committees of more than two other public companies.

Our Chairman and CEO, Barry S. Sternlicht, currently serves on three outside public company boards. However, one of those boards is a special purchase acquisition company (“SPAC”), formed for the limited purpose of identifying acquisition targets and consummating a business combination. Despite Mr. Sternlicht’s outside commitments, the Board is satisfied that Mr. Sternlicht demonstrates adequate dedication and availability to fulfill his roles with the Company.

The Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the risks the Company faces, while the Board, as a whole and through its committees, has responsibility for the oversight of risk management. In its risk oversight role, the Board has the responsibility to satisfy itself that the risk management processes designed and implemented by management are adequate and functioning as designed. To do this, the Chairman of the Board meets regularly with management to discuss strategy and risks facing the Company. Senior management members attend the Board’s meetings and are available to address any questions or concerns raised by the Board on risk management and any other matters. The Chairman of the Board and non-executive members of the Board work together to provide strong, independent oversight of the Company’s management and affairs through its standing committees and, when necessary, special meetings of independent directors.

The members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Board, including their respective Chairs, are comprised entirely of independent directors who serve in oversight roles. Through these committees, the Board is actively involved in the oversight of risk, compliance, possible conflicts of interest and related party transactions. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees risk associated with our corporate governance practices and policies. The Audit Committee oversees the Company’s risk, policies for risk management and specific risks associated with major financial exposures, legal matters, operational risks, including cybersecurity, and compliance with laws and regulations. The Compensation Committee oversees risks associated with the Company’s compensation policies and practices.

The Board considers environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks, including the impact of climate change, as part of the Company’s risk profile. Given the depth and breadth of risks relating to ESG matters, we share responsibility for such risks across certain committees, leveraging the risk oversight expertise of our committees based on subject matter. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees overall ESG efforts, progress and disclosure and monitors evolving ESG risks and opportunities. Our Compensation Committee reviews the Company’s strategies and policies related to human capital

management, employee engagement and talent development. These committees provide an update to the full Board on matters discussed and reviewed in their meetings held prior to the Board meeting, including with respect to ESG risks. In addition, the Board receives quarterly strategic updates, where topics relating to ESG matters, human capital strategy and environmental and social business risks are discussed. The Board reviews these topics and their related risks to ensure that they advance the Company’s strategy. Finally, the Board periodically reviews changes in the Company’s enterprise risk portfolio, including changes to ESG risks, and discusses any additional Board or management action needed to help oversee and manage these risks.

Oversight of cybersecurity is a joint responsibility of our Board of Directors and Audit Committee, with each receiving at least quarterly updates from management on our cybersecurity program, including measures taken to address cybersecurity risks and significant cybersecurity incidents. We have implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity program that employs various controls and activities aimed at identifying, protecting against, detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats. These controls, including endpoint and network monitoring, endpoint protection and network security measures, safeguard our assets from unauthorized access and attacks. We prioritize data protection through data classification and access management designed to permit access only by authorized personnel. Controls and related activities are designed taking into consideration recognized third-party cybersecurity frameworks.

For more information, please refer to Item 1C, “Cybersecurity” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

Executive sessions of the non-executive directors occur regularly during the course of the year. “Non-executive directors” include all independent directors and any other non-management directors. Mr. Bronson, our Lead Independent Director, is responsible for presiding over executive sessions of the non-executive directors. In addition, in the event that the non-executive directors include any director who is not an independent director, an executive session of only the independent directors will occur at least once a year.

The Board met four times during 2024, including both regularly scheduled and special meetings. Each director attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board and of the committees of the Board on which such director served during the calendar year ended December 31, 2024. The Company expects each director serving on its Board to regularly attend meetings of the Board and the committees on which such director serves, and to review, prior to meetings, materials distributed in advance of such meetings. Additionally, the Company expects each director to attend the annual meetings of shareholders. Each director then in office attended our 2024 annual meeting of shareholders.

Pursuant to the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, directors, employees and their immediate families may not purchase, sell, acquire or dispose of any securities issued by the Company and all other entities affiliated with Starwood Capital Group, including any derivative instruments relating to these securities, without prior approval from the Company’s legal counsel.

The Company has adopted an Insider Trading Policy and related procedures governing the purchase, sale, and/or other dispositions of our securities by directors, officers, employees and other covered persons (“Insiders”) that we believe are reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations and the listing requirements of the NYSE. In addition, this policy confirms that the Company will not trade in Company securities in violation of applicable securities laws or NYSE listing standards. A copy of the Company’s Insider Trading Policy is filed as Exhibit 19 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The Board casts a wide net for information and values input from a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders. We have therefore created a variety of means for our shareholders to communicate with us. These include:

Any interested party may initiate communications with the Board, the Chairman of the Board, the Lead Independent Director, the independent directors as a group, any committee of the Board or any individual director or directors by writing to our Secretary at the address set forth above. You should indicate on the outside of the envelope the intended recipient of your communication (i.e., the full Board, the independent directors as a group or any individual director or directors). In addition, interested parties may contact the Board, the Chairman of the Board, the Lead Independent Director, the independent directors as a group, any committee of the Board or any individual director or directors electronically via email to the Board’s designated email address: [email protected]. The Board has instructed our General Counsel to review such mail and email correspondence and, at his discretion, not to forward items if he deems them to be of a commercial or frivolous nature or otherwise inappropriate for the recipient’s consideration.

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s directors, executive officers and persons beneficially owning more than ten percent of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities to file reports of beneficial ownership and changes in such ownership on Forms 3, 4 and 5 with the SEC and the NYSE. These persons are also required to furnish the Company with copies of all Forms 3, 4 and 5 that they file. Based solely on the Company’s review of the copies of such Forms it has received, the Company believes that all its executive officers, directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners complied with all filing requirements applicable to them since January 1, 2024, other than the filing of a Form 4 for Mr. Sternlicht which was filed late on January 5, 2024.

Executive directors do not receive compensation for serving on the Board. For these purposes, an “executive director” is a member of the Board who is also an employee of Starwood Capital Group or an affiliate thereof, including the Company. For 2024, each non-executive director was entitled to receive a $110,000 annual cash retainer, payable in quarterly installments in conjunction with quarterly meetings of the Board. In addition, directors serving in the following roles were entitled to receive these additional annual cash retainers: our Lead Independent Director: $40,000; our Audit Committee Chair: $20,000; each member of the Audit Committee: $10,000; our Compensation Committee Chair: $15,000; each member of the Compensation Committee: $7,500; our Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee Chair: $10,000; each member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: $2,500; and each member of the Investment Committee: $2,500.

In addition, in 2024, each non-executive director was entitled to an equity award of $140,000, payable in the form of restricted shares of common stock that vest on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant, subject to the director’s continued service on the Board, under the Starwood Property Trust, Inc. 2022 Equity Plan (the “2022 Equity Plan”); and reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred in connection with attending Board and committee meetings.

The table below summarizes the compensation paid by the Company to its non-executive directors for the calendar year ended December 31, 2024.

The Compensation Committee and the Board aim to provide and maintain competitive director compensation levels and minimize the complexity of the Company’s fee structure. For 2025, the Board increased the annual equity retainer paid to non-employee directors to $150,000, payable in the form of restricted shares of the common stock that vest on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant, commencing with annual equity retainer grants for the 2025 calendar year.

The Board has adopted a guideline for equity ownership equal to at least three times the value of the annual Board membership cash retainer. When this guideline was implemented in 2011, directors had (i) five years from the time of the implementation of this guideline in 2011 or (ii) five years from the time of their election to the Board, whichever is later, to obtain this level of equity ownership. Restricted stock awards made by the Company in connection with service on the Board and its committees may be counted toward achieving the equity ownership guidelines. As of March 3, 2025, 13,461,255 shares of common stock were available for issuance under the 2022 Equity Plan (determined on a combined basis with the 2022 Manager Equity Plan (defined below)) and 48,090 shares of common stock were subject to unvested awards granted to non-executive directors under the 2022 Equity Plan.

We are a leading diversified real estate finance company—and the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States based on market capitalization. We are passionate about our business and want to share a summary of accomplishments of which we are proud. We also believe it is important to provide insight into how we think of ourselves and our larger purpose as a corporate citizen, which supports our ability to create value for our shareholders. We utilize a multi-cylinder investment platform that enables us to collaborate with Starwood Capital Group’s approximately 5,000 employees across its 17 global offices to find investment opportunities in our core focus areas of real estate and infrastructure. A few highlights regarding our Company are provided below:

 

 

To further our commitment to sustainability, we have aligned our social and environmental disclosures with market-leading frameworks SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). The Company has identified the Mortgage Finance, Real Estate and applicable portions of the Asset Management & Custody Activities and Commercial Bank Sector Standards as most relevant to our business, as well as TCFD alignment, which highlights our climate-related considerations for the organization. The disclosures are publicly available on our website and can be viewed at the following link: https://www.starwoodpropertytrust.com/corporate-responsibility (note that information provided on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement). In addition, an affiliate of our Manager, Starwood Capital Group, is proud to be a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

On a regular basis throughout the year, our management team—including our CEO and Chairman of the Board—attends investor conferences and holds one-on-one meetings and calls with investors to gain a better understanding of the issues that are important to existing and potential shareholders. We also interact with our shareholders’ stewardship and proxy voting teams and our directors remain open to engagements where valuable and appropriate.

Our management team regularly holds individual and group meetings with the Company’s shareholders to discuss, among other topics, our business, financial and operating performance, our capital allocation priorities and our corporate governance and executive compensation. We use the information gathered in these meetings to help inform our governance and decision-making and ensure our interests remain aligned with those of our shareholders.

We have approximately 300 employees across offices located in Greenwich, New York, Miami Beach, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Stamford, London and San Francisco. We strive to be an employer of choice, and are therefore highly focused on creating and maintaining best in class recruitment, retention and compensation programs and a culture designed to encourage performance, integrity and well-being.

The following chart lists the names, ages and positions of the executive officers of the Company. For additional information on Mr. Sternlicht see the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Our Board—Proposal 1: Election of Directors.”