Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. Announces COO Transition: A Seamless Leadership Succession

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPMT) has announced a planned leadership transition, with Ethan Lebowitz set to succeed Steven Plust as Chief Operating Officer (COO) by May 1, 2025. This internal promotion reflects the company's commitment to developing leadership talent and maintaining operational continuity.



Plust, who has served as COO since the company's inception, will remain with Granite Point as a Senior Managing Director full-time until his retirement, which will be no later than December 31, 2027. In this capacity, he will continue to serve the Company in a senior role, including on various management committees, such as the Company’s Investment Committee. This arrangement ensures a smooth transition and continued access to Plust's expertise.

Jack Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Granite Point, expressed his gratitude for Plust's contributions and confidence in Lebowitz's ability to lead the company's operational strategy. "Steve has played a critical role in shaping our strategy and building our strong operational foundation. We are pleased that we will continue to benefit from his tremendous expertise and experience," said Taylor. "Ethan has demonstrated exceptional leadership, deep industry acumen and keen strategic vision over his many year career with us, including at Granite Point since its inception. I am excited to welcome him to the executive team. His appointment reflects our deep bench of talent across the organization and our ability to develop the next generation of leaders."

Plust echoed Taylor's sentiments, expressing confidence in Granite Point's future and his focus on supporting the leadership team as they continue to build on the company's significant momentum. "I am proud of what we have built at Granite Point and have the utmost confidence in Granite Point’s future, and am focused on supporting Jack, Ethan and the rest of the leadership team as we continue to build on our significant momentum," said Plust.

Lebowitz, who has worked with senior members of the Granite Point team for many years, including most recently serving as a Managing Director of Granite Point, is thrilled to succeed Plust as COO. "I am thrilled to succeed Steve as COO at this important time for Granite Point. I look forward to working alongside the executive team as we continue to execute key initiatives to enhance our resilience and successfully navigate the current environment and position Granite Point to drive profitable growth," said Lebowitz.



Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. is a Maryland corporation focused on directly originating, investing in and managing senior floating rate commercial mortgage loans and other debt and debt-like commercial real estate investments. The company is headquartered in New York, NY. Additional information is available at www.gpmtreit.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, or incorporates by reference, not only historical information, but also forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from our beliefs, expectations, estimates, projections and illustrations and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “target,” “believe,” “outlook,” “potential,” “continue,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “goals,” “future,” “likely,” “may” and similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to strategy, plans or in

Word count: 598