Fannie Mae announced Sheila Bair will be the new chair for its board of directors, effective Nov. 20. Bair will succeed Jonathan Plutzik, who will remain on the board.
“I am pleased to announce Sheila Bair as the new chair of Fannie Mae’s Board of Directors,” said Plutzik in a release. “Sheila’s deep well of experience will provide strong leadership as Fannie Mae works with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to exit conservatorship while simultaneously fulfilling our mission to provide access to safe, affordable mortgage financing. I note with pride the progress Fannie has made in all aspects of its operations since the last financial crisis and commend my fellow directors and Director [Mark] Calabria for their unwavering commitment to making Fannie Mae a truly outstanding housing finance company.”
Bair joined the board of directors in August 2019. During her time, she has served on a number of committees, including the risk policy and capital committee. She is also a member of other directorial boards and serves as chair emerita of the Systemic Risk Council. Previously, Bair has been the chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., president of Washington College, senior advisor to the Pew Charitable Trusts and DLA Piper, dean’s professor of financial regulatory policy for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, senior vice president for government relations of the New York Stock Exchange, commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, counsel to the New York Stock Exchange, and counsel to Sen. Bob Dole.
“I am pleased and honored to be selected as chair of this outstanding board and grateful to Jonathan Plutzik for his leadership,” Bair said. “This is a pivotal time for Fannie Mae, and I look forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues in service of our ultimate client, the public.”