After five years with the the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Steven Antonakes announced in an internal memo Thursday to employees that he is stepping down from his role at the government agency.
“Having commuted from Boston for nearly five years, I have logged hundreds of thousands of miles and missed entirely too many class plays, teacher conference meetings, and little league games,” Antonakes writes in the email, obtained by RMD from the CFPB. “Accordingly, I have decided to return home to Massachusetts and pursue opportunities that will ensure that I am home for dinner with my wife and family and can assist my five children with their homework.”
Antonakes called the decision “bittersweet” in his email.
The CFPB named Antonakes as the acting deputy director in 2013. He also serves as the associate director for supervision, enforcement, and fair lending (SEFL) at the CFPB.
Following Antonakes’ announcement CFPB Director Richard Cordray issued an email to employees saying Antonakes’ “contributions to this agency have been extensive in his dual roles as deputy director and SEFL associate director, and I know many of you share my appreciation for all his work. I have great respect for Steve’s decision to move closer to his family given my own situation with a weekly interstate commute. It is not easy to juggle work at the Bureau with family far away during the week, and Steve has done so incredibly well.”
The CFPB will provide additional information in the coming weeks about acting responsibilities for both the deputy director and SEFL associate director roles, Cordray said.
Written by Cassandra Dowell