FANNIE AND FREDDIE used the occasion of this year's MBA CREF Convention in February to introduce some new faces in leadership. Fannie Mae's new executive vice president of multifamily, Jeff Hayward, was at the show, while Freddie Mac announced the hiring of John Cannon (pictured) as its new head of production.

Cannon left Berkadia back in October after a long stint with the company, which began as GMAC Commercial Mortgage and later became Capmark. The hiring of Cannon illustrates the circular nature of the multifamily finance world, where many former GSE execs become top GSE originators— and vice versa. For instance, former Freddie head of production Mitch Kiffe is now with CBRE Capital Markets.

“Three years ago, Mitch Kiffe would've been on stage at CREF giving an award to John Cannon as the leading Freddie Mac seller,” says Brickman. “And today, John would be on stage giving an award to Mitch Kiffe, since CBRE was our largest seller in 2011.”