Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage giant, announced yesterday that it will promote its current GC to the company’s top spot. Timothy Mayopoulos replaces Fannie Mae’s current CEO, Michael J. Williams, who announced in January that he would be leaving the post.
The government came to the aid of Fannie Mae (as well as its sister company, Freddie Mac) in 2008, when the company saw enormous losses on risky mortgages that threatened to bring it down. Mayopolous will be Fannie Mae’s third CEO since the government rescued the struggling company.
In a statement yesterday, the company said Mayopoulos will step into the position at a “pivotal point” in housing finance. Since he joined Fannie Mae as GC in 2009, he has helped rebuild the company and lead it through fundamental change, the statement said.
“Our thorough and thoughtful evaluation of qualified and interested candidates focused on a singular goal—to secure the best leader for Fannie Mae,” said Philip Laskawy, chairman of the board. “We achieved our goal by selecting Tim. He is an experienced and effective leader on a remarkable management team that has stabilized the company and positioned Fannie Mae to return value to taxpayers in the years ahead.”
Mayopoulos’ career spans more than 25 years. Before joining Feddie Mac, he was vice president and general counsel of Bank of America Corp., and prior to that he held several senior management positions at other high-profile financial institutions, as well as worked in private practice.
Mayopoulos said in a statement that he is honored with the opportunity to lead the company during a critical period. “We have a responsibility to return value to taxpayers and to contribute our expertise and experience to building a more effective and stable housing finance system for the future,” he said. “Our nation needs and deserves a better system to support sustainable homeownership. Delivering on our responsibilities is a team effort, and I will maintain a sharp focus on attracting, developing, and retaining terrific people at all levels of the company. Together, I am confident that we have what it takes to achieve our priorities.”
Mayopoulos will assume the role of chief executive officer on June 18.
