Celebrating a Legacy of Service: Wayne Peacock Receives the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement
At the 2025 Hiring Our Heroes Awards Gala, we had the honor of presenting the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement to Wayne Peacock, who recently retired as President and CEO of USAA. This prestigious award recognizes individuals whose leadership and dedication have made a lasting impact on the military-connected community. Wayne joins a distinguished group of past recipients that includes public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders.
Below, we share an abridged version of Wayne Peacock’s remarks from the gala—words that inspire us to continue building pathways of opportunity and support for those who serve.
Wayne Peacock Abridged Remarks
I am humbled to be considered among past President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement recipients like Senator Dole, Secretary Bob McDonald, and Bonnie Carroll.
I also know this award was earned by our outstanding USAA teammates and our 14 million members who afforded me the opportunity to represent them in service to military families for 37 years.
USAA has a clear mission and purpose: to help military families achieve financial security. USAA has advocated for service members and their families for over a century…and I am so proud that we stand tall for them every day…and especially when it matters most. Once again, Team USAA is mobilizing during the government shutdown, providing more than $400 million in interest-free loans and additional relief on loan and credit card obligations and insurance premiums for our members.
When we launched Face the Fight with our partners at Reach Resilience, Humana and EDF—just two short years ago—to stop veteran suicide, we knew this was a tough problem. It is heartening to see we have impacted over 6,500 lives while building a coalition of over 250 nonprofits directing services and energy to Face the Fight against veteran suicide.
USAA continues to prioritize meaningful careers for veterans and military spouses. We know that veterans bring the values and work ethic to our workplace each day; that enhances our brand and mission fulfillment. And at USAA, they provide a valuable service to their civilian teammates by authentically sharing what military life is really like. And no one teaches leadership as well as our military.
Today, 23% of our workforce are veterans or military spouses. And they populate all areas of our association, bringing a vast array of skills and experiences. We are better because of their presence and impact.
Our partnership with Hiring Our Heroes has and will continue to be critical as we collectively work to support and advance military families in America.
USAA and Hiring Our Heroes have strong mission alignment and are driving measurable impact.
We were early partners because we knew the need and saw the opportunity to catalyze a larger community to meaningfully support veterans.
I’ve seen firsthand the value of our fellowship programs. It’s been so rewarding to meet fellows early in their time at USAA, and then to meet them later as they are building their career at USAA.
Fellows have an average hire rate of over 85% and a starting salary north of $100,000. These impressive business metrics should inspire leaders to grow their programs.
Beyond the salaries and earnings though, the sense of belonging and purpose resonate most. Both for fellows individually and from their impact on teammates.
In the world we live in today, where we are divided on so much, we all continue to be united in our desire to support our military men and women, and their families.
There’s nothing more economically foundational than access to a meaningful career that can drive financial empowerment and inspire purpose.
Hiring Our Heroes is that connection for so many military families. Not just to a job, but to a new sense of purpose… community… and identity. And American business is the beneficiary of their service!
Ginny and I had the great fortune of stewarding the USAA Association, representing the brand while working tirelessly to impact our members' lives. We are truly grateful to be honored with the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.
We accept this recognition on behalf of the USAA team, many who are represented and here with us today, and even more importantly, the 14 million members who have allowed USAA to serve them honorably for over a century.
