Government-controlled mortgage lender Fannie Mae appointed Michael Williams as president, CEO and a board director.

Williams succeeds Herbert Allison Jr., who was nominated to be assistant secretary for financial stability and counselor to the Treasury secretary. Williams (pictured) was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Seabury Group LLC said David Kanter joined its maritime investment banking group as a managing director. Kanter has more than 20 years of experience in debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring advisory with ABN Amro and Lazard. Most recently, he was a managing director in leveraged finance for RBS Global Banking & Markets, which acquired ABN Amro.

Kanter will report to Randee Day, head of the Seabury maritime investment banking group.

Sagent Advisors Inc. launched information technology services and outsourcing, and software and systems practices.

Sagent hired Jeffrey McGrath as a managing director to lead the Charlotte, N.C., office and as head of the IT services and outsourcing group. Ron Eliasek joins as a managing director to head the software and systems group. Chris Oliver will join as a principal and a senior member of the IT services and outsourcing team. Also joining Sagent in Charlotte are vice presidents Jack Lowe and Bob Casey and associate Toby Albright.

McGrath was head of the defense, aerospace and technology services investment banking group at Wachovia Securities LLC, where he spent 15 years. Eliasek was head of software and systems investment banking there. Oliver worked at Wachovia Securities for nine years, most recently as a director in the defense, aerospace and technology services investment banking group, where he and McGrath built the bank's government services practice.

In New York, CIBC World Markets Inc. hired three directors for its financial solutions group.

Lynne Mazin joins from Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. to cover bond and derivative sales to U.S. investors; Ted Mermel arrives from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to focus on institutional investors across products within FSG; and Joy Ying comes from Morgan Stanley to work on central bank and sovereign wealth funds across FSG.

Check The Deal Pipeline for updates on these Movers & shakers:

• Goldman Sachs veteran David Shiffman joined Miller Buckfire & Co. as a managing director.
• Broadpoint AmTech hired three senior research analysts: Ben Schachter, Brian Marshall and Yun Kim.
• M.R. Beal said J.P. Morgan's Bhanu Patil joined as a vice president in public finance.