Sterling Partners hires ex-Fannie Mae CEO

Michael Williams led Fannie Mae through its government conservatorship following the US mortgage crisis.

The former chief executive officer of US mortgage provider Fannie Mae has joined the Sterling Partners’ portfolio company Prospect Mortgage, a residential retail lender, as chairman of its board of directors, the firm announced in a statement.

Michael Williams became CEO of Fannie Mae in April 2009, shortly before the US government took over the troubled company in the wake of the mortgage crisis that precipitated the global recession.

Fannie Mae’s fortunes improved under Williams, who took the company from a $23 billion loss in the first quarter of 2009 to a $5.9 billion profit in the second quarter of 2012. Williams’ tenure as CEO concluded a 21-year run at the mortgage provider, according to a Bloomberg report.

Michael
Williams

“The housing market is positioned for a period of solid, sustainable growth in which well-managed, disciplined and innovative companies will have substantial success,” Williams said in a statement.

Williams was unavailable for comment at press time.

Sterling Partners was founded in 1983 and has approximately $5 billion of assets under management. The firm has offices in Chicago, Baltimore and Miami.

The firm is in the process of marketing its fourth mid-market buyout fund, which had raised at least $800 million on a $1 billion target, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission document filed Thursday.