At a recent meeting of the MassHousing Board, longtime Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason announced that he would retire, effective Dec. 31, 2016.

The board voted to name Timothy C. Sullivan, MassHousing deputy director for finance and rental programs, as Gleason’s successor.

Gleason has been executive director since 2001, having served previously in several roles at MassHousing as well as the state Executive Office of Communities and Development. Gleason also serves as president of the National Council of State Housing Agencies and plans to complete the remainder of his term, which is up in September 2016.

“It has been an honor to have served as the leader of this great organization since 2001 and to have worked here for nearly 30 years,” Gleason said in a statement. “We have accomplished some great things during that period and have touched the lives of literally tens of thousands of families in Massachusetts as a result of our financing and programs. I can think of no one better than Tim Sullivan to take the reins of leadership.”

Sullivan has been deputy director for finance and rental programs since 2013, assuming the role after more than 10 years as the agency’s director of rental lending and CFO. Sullivan has previously held a number of senior budget and finance positions in Massachusetts government, including state budget director and the state’s director of finance.

“I have committed the better part of the past 15 years to MassHousing and am honored to be selected by our board to lead us into the future,” Sullivan said in a statement. “People are still challenged to find adequate housing that they can afford at a reasonable price and I am focused on delivering on this administration’s housing priorities.”