Leadership changes at Fannie Mae; Zillow names chief economist 

Editor's note: As an industry with millions of agents and over 100,000 brokerage companies, new leaders rise to the top every day. Here we highlight executives and other notable leaders who've recently taken on, or stepped away from, roles that influence the residential real estate landscape.

Head of Fannie Mae departs, COO moves up

Priscilla Almodovar — Fannie Mae's president and CEO since Dec. 2022 — is out, and three other leaders within the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) will take over her responsibilities.

On Oct. 22, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced that Fannie Mae COO Peter Akwaboah will also now serve as acting CEO. Pulte thanked Almodovar in a press release "for her years of service to Fannie Mae" but did not specify a reason for her departure.

In addition to serving as COO at Fannie Mae, Akwaboah brings over three decades of financial services leadership experience to the position, making him "the perfect fit for the Acting CEO position while the Board conducts its search for a permanent CEO," Pulte said.

The GSE also has two new co-presidents: John Roscoe, Fannie Mae's EVP of operations and public relations, and Brandon Hamara, a leader at Tri Pointe Homes and a member of the Freddie Mac board.

Hamara also joined the Fannie Mae board earlier this month, a move Pulte praised at the time, declaring, "it will take somebody with deep understanding of homebuilding in order to get homebuilding going again."

With Akwaboah, Roscoe and Hamara in their new roles effective immediately, "we now have a deep bench of three experienced leaders at the very top of Fannie Mae," Pulte said. "This means a safer, sounder Fannie Mae, all while growing our great Fortune 25 Company."

This is the latest leadership shakeup at Fannie and Freddie since Pulte appointed himself as board chair of the two GSEs in March, ousting 14 members and appointing seven new ones. Days later, Pulte fired Freddie Mac CEO Diana Reid, replacing her with the GSE's president, Mike Hutchins.

Economist with legislative background joins Zillow

Zillow has announced that Mischa Fisher will serve as the company's new chief economist. Fisher has experience analyzing housing, labor and consumer spending data, and possesses "a knack for turning complex trends into clear insight for buyers, sellers, renters and all the industry partners who support them," Zillow said in a LinkedIn post.

Fisher most recently taught data science at Northwestern University and led product analytics for eLearning platform Udemy, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also held chief economist positions at Angi, a homeowner-focused software development firm, and with the state of Illinois, where he advised former governor Bruce Rauner. He previously worked as a congressional advisor and legislative director in Washington, D.C.

In his own post on LinkedIn, Fisher said he was "beyond thrilled" to join Zillow's team.

"One of the reasons I think real estate is so rewarding is because homes are simultaneously these deeply personal spaces that mean so much to us, and our largest financial commitments — closely tied to what's happening in macroeconomics, policy, finance, and labor markets," Fisher wrote.

"Rest assured our team has a ton in store for the year ahead to shed light on all these areas, and I hope y'all are as excited as I am for what we've got next!" he added.