He served as assistant to Paul Volcker, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, in 1981 and 1982, and previously served as deputy assistant secretary of the United States Treasury. In that with responsibility for developing the department's position on all domestic economic policy issues, and extensive interaction with other executive branch agencies, Congress and the public.[citation needed]
Syron joined Thermo Electron as CEO in 1999, and moved to his post at Freddie Mac in 2003.[citation needed] In 2004, David Andrukonis, the chief risk officer of Freddie Mac, warned Syron of increasing risk in Freddie Mac's portfolio. Syron declined to act.[2] In December 2007, Syron told financial analysts that he expected Freddie Mac would incur heavy losses because of the weakening housing market and rising mortgage defaults.[3] Despite these forecasts, and concerns over the fiscal stability of Freddie Mac due to larger-than-expected write-offs, Syron reportedly took home over $19 million in cash, stocks, and other executive compensation in 2007.[4] Syron was terminated September 6, 2008, under a Federal Housing Finance Agency plan for conservatorship of Freddie Mac.[5][6] It was not known at the time if he would receive a severance package.[7]
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