Navy Federal’s Board Chair Retires After 30 Years of Service
Vice Admiral John Lockard championed successful growth strategies of Navy Federal during his decades-long tenure.
In 1991, Vice Admiral John Lockard, U.S. Navy (Ret.) was appointed to the Vienna, Va.-based Navy Federal Credit Union board as a volunteer official. In 1993, Lockard was elected to the board where he became secretary and, within a year, became chairman. Lockard held that position for 30 years until he announced his retirement on Friday.
According to the announcement from Navy Federal ($166 billion in assets), Lockard oversaw tremendous growth of the credit union as its membership went from 1.4 million in the early ’90s to 12.7 million today. Throughout his leadership, Lockard successfully pushed the credit union’s field of membership expansion to include all Department of Defense employees in 2008 and helped establish Navy Federal’s Pensacola, Fla., campus in 2002, where more than 10,000 employees work.
According to Navy Federal, Lockard’s history also includes leading the selection process of the past three Navy Federal President/CEOs: Brian McDonnell in 1996, Cutler Dawson in 2004 and Mary McDuffie in 2018.
Second Vice Chairman and Executive Committee Member Edward Cochrane, Jr. has been elected as Navy Federal’s new chairman, according to a statement from Navy Federal. Cochrane has been a board member since 2011 and served on the credit union’s Financial Strategy and Investment Committee since 2007.
“Chairman Lockard has been an inspiring leader throughout our history at Navy Federal. He retires after more than 30 years of service, leaving a legacy of passionate support for credit unions, Navy Federal’s mission of member service and employee growth and development. He has been a role model of leadership for me and countless others throughout his decades of service,” President/CEO Mary McDuffie said. “He will be greatly missed, but we know Chairman Cochrane will continue in his footsteps.”
Of his retirement, Lockard said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on and led the board. I have eternal admiration for the members and employees of Navy Federal Credit Union. There is not a day that the knowledge I have received in interacting with the members and employees has not exceeded the time I have invested. I leave with high confidence that the members of Navy Federal are in the best hands to receive the highest possible value from their credit union.”