According to a post on the social media platform X, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William J. Pulte has vowed to stop making leadership changes atop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs).
“To stay competitive in any business, change is good, but as of today, we do not see more executive changes (other than preannounced or already agreed upon departures) because we will now focus on growth, eliminating fraud, safety and soundness, and making homes affordable again!” said Pulte via Twitter.
In a follow-up post, he continued, “We do not foresee any more executive leadership changes at Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Our focus will now turn to growth, making homes more affordable, rooting out mortgage fraud & providing great career opportunity to those who make Fannie & Freddie great American Icons, again!”
On September 6, 2008, with consent of both Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Boards of Directors, the Director of the FHFA exercised statutory authority to place each GSE into conservatorship. This established the two conservatorships in response to a deterioration in the housing markets that severely damaged the financial condition of each, and left both of them unable to fulfill their missions without government intervention. The Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, authorizes FHFA as conservator to “take such action as may be necessary to put the regulated entity in a sound and solvent condition; and appropriate to carry on the business of the regulated entity and preserve and conserve the assets and property of the regulated entity.”
On March 13, the U.S. Senate confirmed Pulte as next Director of the FHFA after President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Pulte as FHFA Director after a career in private equity. Pulte, grandson of William Pulte, Founder and Chair of U.S. homebuilder PulteGroup, was a member of the Board of Directors of PulteGroup, residential home-construction company based in Atlanta. As of 2023, the company was the third-largest home-construction company in the nation based on the number of homes closed—having built nearly 800,000 homes. Since 2011, Pulte has served as CEO of Pulte Capital Partners LLC, an investment firm with no affiliation with PulteGroup, focused on investing in housing supply, building products, and related service companies. Pulte also served as CEO and Chair of Carstin Brands LLC, a residential countertop manufacturer, and as a Director of Olon Group, a manufacturer for the cabinet industry. Prior to its sale in May 2016, Pulte built Southern Air & Heat LLC into one of the leading residential heating and air conditioning platforms in the nation.
As rounds of government layoffs continue, the Trump administration is slashing jobs and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seeks to cut federal costs, and focus has turned to those agencies that oversee the housing market.
In late March, Freddie Mac CEO Diana Reid, Head of Human Resources Dionne Wallace Oakley, and EVP of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs Craig Phillips were dismissed from their roles, as well as Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) COO Gina Cross. Mike Hutchins, President of Freddie Mac, was named Interim CEO after Reid’s dismissal. Hutchins is a member of Freddie Mac’s Board of Directors and the company’s Senior Operating Committee. Rounding out Freddie Mac’s current leadership team are John Glessner, EVP and Head of Investments & Capital Markets; Dennis Hermonstyne Jr., SVP and COO; Anil Hinduja, EVP and Chief Risk Officer; Laura Lee, SVP and General Auditor; Heidi Mason, EVP and General Counsel; Sonu Mittal, EVP and Head of the Single-Family Acquisitions Division; Frank Nazzaro, EVP, Enterprise Operations & Technology; Kevin Palmer, SVP and Head of Multifamily; Ravi Shankar, EVP and Head Single-Family Portfolio and Servicing Division; and Jim Whitlinger, EVP and CFO.
Atop Fannie Mae, Priscilla Almodovar remains President and CEO and also serves on the company’s Board of Directors. Pulte recently appointed former Bank of America Managing Director and Founder/CEO of Farvahar Partners Omeed Malik as a member of Fannie Mae’s Board of Directors. Malik joins Fannie Mae’s nine-member Board of Directors, including Pulte (Chair), along with Almodovar, Clinton Jones, Renée L. Glover, Karin J. Kimbrough, Manuel “Manolo” Sánchez Rodríguez, Scott D. Stowell, and Michael Stucky. Rounding out the Fannie Mae leadership team are Peter Akwaboah, EVP and COO; Malloy Evans, EVP and Head of Single-Family; Kelly Follain, EVP and Head of Multifamily; Chryssa C. Halley, EVP and CFO; Danielle M. McCoy, SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; Anthony Moon, EVP and CRO; Katie O’Connell Jones, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer; John Roscoe, EVP, Operations and Public Relations; Stergios “Terry” Theologides, EVP and Chief Administrative Officer; and Cissy Yang, SVP and Chief Audit Executive.
