On March 20, 2023, the board of directors of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. appointed Michael Comparato to succeed Richard J. Byrne as the Company's President, effective immediately. Mr. Byrne will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Michael Comparato is a managing director with Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. the Company's external manager, and has served as head of real estate for the Advisor since 2017.

Since the Advisor took over the role of external manager of the Company, Mr. Comparato has played a leading role for the Advisor in fulfilling its duties under the advisory agreement, including overseeing loan originations and other investments. Prior to joining the Advisor in 2015, Mr. Comparato was head of U.S. Equity Investments at Ladder Capital Corp., where he led Ladder's largest team that actively originated CMBS loans, structured/balance sheet loans, mezzanine loans and acquired strategic assets for the firm. Prior to joining Ladder, Mr. Comparato was president of BankAtlantic Commercial Mortgage Capital, the CMBS affiliate of BankAtlantic, where he was responsible for managing all day-to-day operations.