USAA’s outgoing President and CEO Wayne Peacock has a lot more than golf and beach vacations on his mind these days as he heads into retirement this spring.
Peacock, who took up the helm of the Fortune 500 banking and insurance giant in 2020 as its first civilian CEO, sat down with former Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus earlier this week for a fireside chat hosted by the World Affairs Council of San Antonio to discuss closing out his tenure.
In a rapidly changing world where natural disasters and global inflation are becoming the norm, Peacock said he hopes USAA can continue to be a pillar of hope and strength to the 13.5 million global members who depend on the company.
“We have made investments to ensure that USAA remains relevant for the future,” he said, noting that the board has already selected Juan Andrade as his successor.
Like many insurance companies today, USAA is facing unprecedented times that include economic challenges such as rising interest rates and geopolitical risks, he said. While the company can’t tackle these issues alone, it can aim to make them less difficult for their members, Peacock said.
He pointed to USAA’s recent response to the California wildfires as an example. Since the wildfires broke out on Jan. 7, USAA has processed more than 6,000 claims in the Los Angeles area largely through using satellite and drone imagery to help assess damage and expedite claim payments, Peacock said.
“We were the first on the ground and the first to get money into our members’ hands,” Peacock said. About 1,000 of those claims were for homes that were completely destroyed, he said.
Peacock said he believes that the way USAA has embraced technology, including artificial intelligence, will only continue to help the company grow into the future.
“No matter what we think about the pace behind us, the pace in front of us is going to move much more quickly,” he said.
