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2026 Virginia Power 50 List: DIETRICH KUHLMANN
PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, VIENNA
Virginia Business //March 1, 2026//
Kuhlmann
Kuhlmann
2026 Virginia Power 50 List: DIETRICH KUHLMANN
PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, VIENNA
Virginia Business //March 1, 2026//
In 2024, Kuhlmann took the helm of the world’s largest credit union, with $180.8 billion in assets and more than 15 million members, a benchmark it reached in October 2025. After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral, Kuhlmann joined Navy Federal in 2019 as head of branch operations. He later worked as chief real estate lending officer before being promoted to chief operating officer in 2022.
He came to Navy Federal after more than three decades with the Navy and the Department of Defense. As commander of Submarine Group Nine, he oversaw all submarine matters in the Pacific Northwest. Kuhlmann graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Catholic University of America.
In 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Navy Federal Credit Union to pay more than $80 million to consumers and $15 million in penalties over overdraft fees. After President Donald Trump returned to the White House, however, he installed new CFPB leadership, which terminated that order in June 2025.
