As you likely saw in Kevin Palmer’s message, Rich Martinez is retiring after a stellar 34 years with Freddie Mac Multifamily. Rich has been a huge asset to us and the industry, so while we’ll miss him greatly, we wish him all the best in his next chapter.

This is an important time at Freddie Mac and in the industry — with big changes in the market, the entrance of significant new competition, rising Treasury rates, and increasing pressure on affordable preservation and supply. Yet through all this, Freddie Mac and our commitment to our mission remains unchanged.

As I take on my new role as interim head of Production & Sales, we’ll continue to benefit from our highly experienced team leading the business lines: Conventional led by Meg McElgunn and Steve Lineberger, Seniors Housing headed by Steve Schmidt, and Kelly Haddigan Chou overseeing our Small Balance Loan (SBL) business. Peter Lillestolen has added LIHTC Equity and Curtis Melvin, Structured — and together they’ll continue to lead the Retail platform in Targeted Affordable Housing (TAH).

Kevin Palmer, our new head of Multifamily business, has started, and we’re looking forward to working closely with him. With more than two decades at Freddie Mac, Kevin has earned the reputation of being a highly effective, collaborative leader and forward thinker, who understands how things work from end to end. I’m confident Kevin will bring these same qualities to leading Multifamily.

I’ve worked with many of you over the years, but for those who don’t know me yet, I want to share a little of my background. During my time at Freddie Mac, I’ve been given incredible opportunities. While you may know me from SBL and more recently TAH, I actually started at Freddie Mac in Human Resources 22 years ago. My technical skills weren’t always there, but the company took a chance on me because they believed I had the leadership potential to make a difference. 

With each of these unique opportunities, the most important thing was to earn the trust of the Freddie Mac team and the confidence of the multifamily industry. My objective now is no different. To humbly earn this opportunity to lead. I’m energized. I’m excited. And I look forward to working with you to find our very best execution — with the affordable mission as our North Star and partnership and integrity as our guide.