The Decline and Fall of a Once Great Company

On August 25, 2023, the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) will convene its annual members meeting to re-elect the CEO and Board of Directors. For over 100 years, USAA has provided insurance and banking services to the military community and relied heavily on this symbiotic relationship to promote its business model. But since 2020, when Wayne Peacock became USAA's only non-veteran CEO, the corporation has embraced diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environment, social, and government (ESG) programs.

Soon after Mr. Peacock's appointment as CEO, USAA renewed its exclusive sponsorship with the National Football League, disregarding pushback from many of its members, who objected vehemently to players taking knee during the playing of the National Anthem. USAA executives dismissed these concerns, framing the disrespectful display as a freedom of speech issue. The implication was that USAA's financial support of unpatriotic, controversial behavior is compatible with the company's mission.

USAA is regarded as one of the world's most admired companies, but further inspection reveals that the company may be treading on past laurels. Employee morale and customer service are sagging, as the company faces class action lawsuits and a tarnished reputation as a result of substantial fines levied for lying to regulators. Mr. Peacock's leadership style and priorities are serious concerns for the membership, who question the appropriateness of his $4.8-million 2022 compensation package for performance.

USAA's extreme emphasis on DIE, CSR, and ESG metrics comes as a surprise and to the dismay of many of its loyal customers. The company's departure from its fiduciary responsibilities and foray into the realm of politics contributed to the first non-profitable year in 2022, the first in its 100-year history.

Effective leadership requires open communication and consideration of the needs of those under one's charge. As General Colin Powell noted, "leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you problems is the day you stop leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." USAA's departure from this fundamental element of leadership is a sign that the company has drifted away from its core values — service, honesty, and integrity.

An open letter to the USAA Board of Directors written two weeks ago detailed a number of serious concerns about the company and its uncertain future under its current leadership. Robust commentary in response to the letter elicited a variety of far-ranging concerns and evidence supporting the author's claims of the lack of inspired leadership at USAA.

In an article from May 2022, investigative reporter Jaclyn Jaeger recounted a whistleblower's claims that USAA has been actively lying to regulators for years regarding violations of the law. At the time of this publication, these actions resulted in $255 million in civil penalties levied by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for compliance oversights. The whistleblower, Lenn Ferrer, who worked in the compliance division of USAA Bank, was fired the same day his accusations were made public.

USAA is currently the target of a class action lawsuit for overcharging policy-holders with collision coverage with reconstructed titles. The litigants contend that USAA reaps a windfall for coverage it will not provide. In 2022, USAA settled a class action lawsuit alleging the failure to include sales tax in total loss payments to Ohio policy-holders.

Two current USAA employees, who wish to remain anonymous, stated that morale within the company is at an all-time low, with the company's reputation plummeting and customer service suffering. Much of this is due to the current CEO's leadership style. In the view of many employees, Mr. Peacock fails to motivate or cast a compelling vision. He is aloof, protected, and insulated from the employees by a close-knit network of handpicked enablers.

Until two years ago, the USAA Board attended all CEO-employee meetings, but this tradition has lapsed. Controversial changes in budgeting and organizational structure are defended as a transition to the industry standard, which provokes consternation and frustration within the employee ranks, who note that USAA once set the industry standards in all metrics.

Over the past three years, all of the USAA executive council has been replaced by workers primarily drawn from the public sector. The military connection continues to wane as the company pivots to priorities more in concert with the public banking community and progressive ideologies more in harmony with a possible expansion of the USAA consumer base outside the greater military community. This is perhaps one of the reasons USAA labels DIE as a strategic imperative and managers are obliged to establish these parameters within employee performance goals.

USAA maintains an aspirational goals program that is hidden from its employees and USAA members. It establishes hiring practices that are quota-based, and according to a confidential source at USAA, the process specifically excludes white men. These practices expose the company to liability under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which specifically prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

During this year's members meeting, many longtime USAA customers have declared opposition to the woke culture that permeates the upper echelons of the company's leadership. Incentivized promotions based on DIE program attendance have come into question. With insurance premiums soaring, the cost of DIE programs are prohibitive and not worthwhile. Studies from Harvard and Tel Aviv Universities of 800 companies over a span of 30 years demonstrated that DIE programs frequently fail to change employees' attitudes. In fact, they often aggravate biases and racial hostility.

Rather than promote a healthy dialogue to address grievances between USAA management and its disgruntled members, who have supported the company for decades, the CEO and Board of Directors remain above the fray and serve as an example of how this once remarkable company suffers from failed leadership.

Image: kolyaeg via Pixabay, Pixabay License.