Freddie Mac announced that Wendell Chambliss, a 20-year veteran of the company, has been appointed senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDIO). In this newly created role, Chambliss will be responsible for programs and initiatives to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to the company and to the housing industry. He will serve as a member of the company's senior operating committee and will report directly to Freddie Mac CEO Michael DeVito.

Chambliss currently serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Mission, Strategic Business Advisory and Government Affairs within Freddie Mac's Legal Division. He will start his new position on April 11. The newly created CDIO will advance DEI across three main pillars: workforce diversity, supplier diversity, and financial transactions.

The CDIO will also oversee Freddie Mac's Office of Inclusive Engagement. While the company has had senior leadership in chief diversity roles since 2010, in September Freddie Mac announced that the positions of Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer would become two distinct roles reporting to the CEO. Doing so is designed to bring greater focus to the company's DEI efforts.