Matthew A. Salem has served as a director since February 2022 and as Chief Executive Officer of our Company since March 2020. Mr. Salem has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of our Manager since January 2021 and is a member of its investment committee. Mr. Salem previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of our Company from October 2015 through March 2020, and of our Manager from March 2016 through January 2021. Mr. Salem joined KKR in 2015 and is a Partner and Head of Real Estate Credit. He also serves as Vice Chairman of KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. Mr. Salem sits on KKR s Real Estate Investment Committees. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Salem was a managing director at Rialto Capital Management. Before joining Rialto in 2012, he was a managing director and head of CMBS trading at Goldman Sachs. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006, Mr. Salem held positions at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Alternative Investments where he invested in mezzanine debt and other high yield CRE credit on behalf of the Travelers Insurance Companies. He began his career in 1996 at Midland Loan Services in Kansas City. Mr. Salem has a B.A. in Economics from Bates College. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and as Chair of the B-Piece Buyer Forum. Qualifications, Attributes, Skills and Experience: Our Board considered his significant experience and expertise in real estate equity and debt investments, his involvement in the real estate industry and his experience as the Company s Chief Executive Officer.