On November 9, Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman notified the company’s board of directors that he would resign as CEO, effective January 8. As of publication, Freddie Mac still has yet to publicly acknowledge his departure, the news broke in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on November 13. The timing of his departure lends itself to speculation that his departure is due to diminished hopes of exiting government conservatorship under President-elect Biden’s administration.
Michael Hutchins has been appointed interim President of the company effective November 16, 2020. In this role, Hutchins will continue to lead the Investments and Capital Markets business. In addition, the leaders of the company’s Single-Family, Multifamily, Human Resources, Information Technology, Administration and Enterprise Operations divisions will report to Hutchins, and he will have such additional responsibilities as determined by the Board of Directors. There will be no change to Hutchins’s compensation in connection with this appointment. The Board will also be launching a search for a new CEO for Freddie Mac.
Hutchins has served as Freddie Mac’s Executive Vice President – Investments and Capital Markets since January 2015, and prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President – Investments and Capital Markets from July 2013 to January 2015. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Hutchins was Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PrinceRidge, a financial services firm, from 2007 to 2013. Prior to founding PrinceRidge, Hutchins was with UBS from 1996 to 2007, holding a variety of senior management positions, including the Global Head of the Fixed Income Rates & Currencies Group. Prior to UBS, Hutchins worked at Salomon Brothers from 1986 to 1996, where he held a number of management positions, including Co-Head of Fixed Income Capital Markets.
