Post-Air Force
McDermott wrote books on finance for service personnel, which attracted the attention of USAA President Charles Cheever and in 1968, McDermott retired from the Air Force to join USAA and become its Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, USAA grew from the 16th to the 5th largest insurer of private automobiles in the nation and the nation's 4th largest homeowner insurer. A Washington Post obitutary explained:
| “ | Within the company, he was a leading force for minority hiring and equalizing wages. He established four-day workweeks and made employee child care a feature to attract working mothers. "You don't lead by being authoritarian, he said....He had a reputation as a rare maverick in the insurance business, most notably advocating air bags as a crucial safety measure when auto manufacturers were saying it was too costly. | ” |
In September 1993 he assumed the position of chairman emeritus.
McDermott also played a significant role in the community of San Antonio, Texas. In 1974, he was elected chairman of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. In 1975, he founded the Economic Development Foundation and served as its chairman until 1980. In the 1980s, he focused on the developing of biotechnology in San Antonio, and founded the Texas Research and Technology Foundation which began development of the Texas Research Park. In the mid-1990s he was chairman of an investor group that purchased the San Antonio Spurs basketball team for $85 million.
Read more about this topic: Robert F. McDermott
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