Profile

Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)

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Michael James Frueh was appointed the Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits on February 14, 2021. He is responsible for administering benefits programs for Veterans, including education, home loan guaranty, insurance, disability compensation, pension, fiduciary, veteran readiness and employment and transition assistance, in the over 33,000 employee, $197B organization. Mr. Frueh oversees the policy, operations and automation initiatives that have enabled VA to deliver more benefits to more Veterans more quickly than ever before. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Enterprise Integration. He joined VA in 2002 from a private sector career in finance, and has led the Loan Guaranty Service, Benefits Assistance Service, and served as the VBA Chief of Staff. Mr. Frueh received a Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive in 2017. He holds an MBA from The George Washington University, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Pepperdine University.