Apr 23, 2009 1:00 pm US/Eastern
McLEAN, Va. – David Kellermann started at Freddie Mac 16 years ago as an accountant, immersing himself in the company and working tirelessly to establish his career.
At his wife's 40th birthday, Kellermann described how much he appreciated his life: His determination to excel and joyful work attitude had paid off. It was a zest that would fade.
By September, the 41-year-old took on the role of chief financial officer for Freddie Mac. The days became more stressful, the nights longer: Government "shadows" — regulators examining his every move — loomed at his desk. Some $50 billion in company losses. Confused employees left with virtually worthless stockholdings. A public infuriated by the foreclosure crisis and downright outraged at corporate bonuses.
Kellermann was found dead in his basement this week in an apparent suicide, only a day after speaking to a human resource officer at the company and arranging to take time off because he'd been working such long hours. After seven months of trying to help the company he loved emerge from financial disaster, some close to him wondered if it was just too much for Kellermann to try to pick up the pieces.
"If there was a reason it had to be the stress, the mounting stress and pressure of a company ... he worked so hard to help and resurrect and make good," said David Gorder, a movie producer in Hollywood Hills, Calif., who was a fraternity brother of Kellermann's at the University of Michigan. "Maybe he kept it inside too much."
It can be a mystery what makes people — even those seemingly successful — take their own lives. But Kellermann had clearly been under immense stress at Freddie Mac, which has dealt with an unceasing torrent of bad news that began six years ago, when an accounting scandal forced the resignation of two chief executives.
Kellermann rose up the ranks at Freddie Mac after starting as an accountant. Gorder, who shared an apartment with him when he first started at the company, remembered how much he cherished the job.
"He loved Freddie Mac to no end," Gorder said. "I never met anyone so dedicated ... to establish their career and excelling within the ranks of the company. He was enthralled with the work and being an accountant."
After the government's takeover last fall, morale sank and employees watched their company stock holdings all but evaporate. Workers remain confused about what the Obama administration plans to do with Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae.
Freddie Mac, which owns or guarantees about 13 million mortgages, has been criticized for financing risky loans that fueled the real estate bubble and are now defaulting at a record pace. Last month, David Moffett, the government-appointed chief executive, resigned in frustration over strict oversight.
The pressure in jobs like Kellermann's was inescapable.
Amid the crisis last fall, the government regulators known as "shadows" made themselves at home in the offices of Freddie Mac executives including Kellermann, recalled one former Freddie Mac manager and professional friend of Kellermann's. The ex-manager spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the company.
Kellermann had near-daily meetings with Moffett, discussions that became a study in conflicting obligations, according to the former Freddie Mac manager.
Freddie Mac found itself caught between the policy goals of the government and the company's duty to its shareholders, who have suffered staggering losses.
As acting CFO, he oversaw a staff of about 500 at Freddie Mac's headquarters in McLean and had been working on the first-quarter financial report, due by the end of May. But he'd also been caught recently in a dispute between Freddie and the Securities and Exchange Commission over its financial reports, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case.
Freddie is also the subject of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors in Virginia, though there are no indications that Kellermann was considered a target.
Freddie Mac lost more than $50 billion last year, and the Treasury Department has pumped in $45 billion to keep the company afloat.
"Freddie Mac was just a huge part of his life," said Timothy Bittsberger, Freddie Mac's former corporate treasurer, who kept in touch with Kellermann after Bittsberger left the company last fall. "It's just unfortunate he had to deal with so many conflicting priorities which were unfairly and unnecessarily thrown upon him."
Neighbors saw the strain on Kellermann. Some even advised him to quit, but Kellermann responded that he wanted to help the company through its difficulties.
And there were other worries, too. Neighbors noticed a security detail showed up at his sprawling suburban home in the upscale Washington suburb of Vienna after executives at Freddie Mac faced intense criticism for deciding to pay retention bonuses. Kellermann was to receive $850,000 paid out in four installments. He had already received $170,000 in December.
The company acknowledged the stress Kellermann was facing on Tuesday, when Freddie Mac's chief human resources officer asked him to take some time off because he'd been leaving work after 8 p.m. and sometimes working at home for hours, said a person close to the company who spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly. Kellermann agreed to do so, and his work responsibilities would be given to two employees, the individual said.
He never came back. On Wednesday, authorities responding to a 911 call found his body in the home he shared with his wife and 5-year-old daughter.
Associated Press writers Pete Yost, Brett Zongker and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report from Washington. Jeff Karoub contributed, reporting from Detroit
