MCLEAN, Va. – Eugene McQuade, 55, has been appointed president and chief operating officer, of Freddie Mac, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Paul Peterson as COO who, according to a Freddie Mac statement, will remain with the company as a senior advisor to ensure an orderly transition. He plans to retire afterwards. McQuade most recently served as president of Bank of America Corp, and before that had been president/COO of FleetBoston Financial Corp. McQuade's appointment as president of Freddie Mac makes him the latest to sit in that seat since June 2003 when former president/COO David Glenn was terminated from the position as part of an executive shakeup in the wake of Freddie Mac's restatement of its 2000, 2001, and 2002 financial results. Following that, the Freddie Mac Board elected Gregory Parseghian as president/CEO and Peterson as COO. But shortly after that the company was ordered by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to replace Parseghian because it was determined he was too closely tied to the company's accounting problems. By the end of 2003, Richard Syron was named chairman and CEO, succeeding Parseghian. According to Freddie Mac, McQuade's employment agreement for him as president/chief operating officer is for an initial term of three years, subject to automatic extensions for successive one-year periods unless either he or Freddie Mac gives notice the extensions won't occur. Also under the agreement, the Freddie Mac Board will nominate McQuade for election as a board member. Freddie Mac's hiring of McQuade for the president's spot is the latest in a series of senior management changes made at the company over the past six months. It also added a new executive vice president, investments, a new general counsel, a new chief of staff, and a new general auditor.