Timothy J. Mayopoulos (born March 7, 1959) is an American businessman and lawyer who was the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of

Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...

from 2016 to 2019. Following the

collapse of Silicon Valley Bank On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed after a bank run, marking the third-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. It was one of three bank failures, along with Silvergate ...

in March 2023, he was appointed by the

FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

as CEO of its successor, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A. Mayopoulos was announced as president and member of the board of directors at

Blend A blend is a mixture of two or more different substances. Blend may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * The Blend (Sirius XM), a North American satellite radio channel * "Blend", a 2017 song on ...

in 2019. During his career, he was the general counsel of Bank of America and also worked at Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Early life

Mayopoulos was born on March 7, 1959, to Harry B. Mayopoulos and his wife Eleanor Ida (Raifsnider) Mayopoulos. His

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

father was an avionics technician, union organizer and

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

member. His mother worked part-time at a

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

store. He received a bachelor's degree in English from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1980 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1984.

Career

Legal career

After law school, Mayopoulos clerked for William C. Conner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1984-1986). He then worked for the law firm

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussel ...

(1986-1994), before serving on the

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

investigation as part of the Office of the Independent Counsel (1994-1996). From 1996-2000, Mayopoulos was managing director and associate general counsel at

Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) was a U.S. investment bank founded by William H. Donaldson, Richard Jenrette, and Dan Lufkin in 1959. Its businesses included securities underwriting; sales and trading; investment and merchant banking; financi ...

He served as managing director and senior deputy general counsel at Americas of Credit Suisse First Boston (2000-2001) and as managing director and general counsel for Americas of Deutsche Bank AG's Corporate and Investment Bank (2002-2004). He became executive vice president and general counsel of Bank of America in 2004. In 2009, Mayopoulos was dismissed from his job as general counsel at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

Fannie Mae

Mayopoulos joined Fannie Mae in 2009 as executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. In 2010, he became chief administrative officer for Fannie Mae. He was named president and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae in 2012. Mayopoulos worked to move Fannie Mae's long-time headquarters to the Midtown Center in Washington, D.C. In July 2016,

Fifth Third Bancorp Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

, Ohio's largest bank, dismissed its general counsel Heather Russell, because she was having a romantic relationship with Mayopoulos, who was separated from his wife at the time. The company stated that it believed this represented a conflict of interest. Fannie Mae's Board of Directors and Fannie Mae's regulator and conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, concluded that the relationship was not a conflict of interest. During his tenure at Fannie Mae, the company was profitable on an annual basis and delivered more than $167 billion in dividends to taxpayers. In June 2018, Fannie Mae has announced that by the end of the year, CEO Timothy Mayopoulos would step down from his post. The company has said that Mayopoulos would remain in his position until he leaves the business. The board of Fannie Mae said that it would continue the hunt for its replacement.

After Fannie Mae

Mayopoulos became the president of

in 2019. The move was noteworthy as Mayopoulos was one of the first high-profile executives to join the

financial technology Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

industry. He also joined the company's board of directors. Following the

in March 2023, the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

appointed Mayopoulos as CEO of the bank's successor, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A. Since 2017, Mayopoulos had been on a list of "seasoned financial services professionals" whom they could turn to in the event of a bank failure.

Affiliations

He is a member of the board of directors of

Science Applications International Corporation Science Applications International Corporation, Inc. (SAIC) is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support. History 20th century The original SAIC was cr ...

and is an independent director on Lending Club's Board of Directors. Mayopoulos has also been on the Board of Trustees of the

Supreme Court Historical Society The Supreme Court Historical Society (SCHS) describes itself as "a Washington, D.C.–based private, nonpartisan, not for profit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to preserving and communicating the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, in ...

Recognition

Mayopoulos was included amongst the first class of "Legends in Law" at the 2007 Burton Awards. In 2011, he was named one of the 500 most influential lawyers in the United States by ''Lawdragon''. Mayopoulos received a

Glassdoor Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies, operated by the company of the same name. In 2018, the company was acquired by the Japanese company Recruit Holdings (owner of Indeed) for US$1. ...

Employees' Choice Award as a Highest Rated CEO in 2017.

Personal life

Mayopoulos was married to Amy Lefkof, and they have two children. On November 21, 2020, Mayopoulos married Heather J. Russell in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

, and became stepfather to her two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayopoulos, Timothy J Fannie Mae chief executive officers American lawyers Living people Cornell University alumni Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers New York University School of Law alumni American people of Greek descent 1959 births