John E. Bell III was appointed Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Mission Support (OMS) on August 10, 2025. In this role, John serves as the principal advisor to the Executive Director of OMS and the liaison with key officials within the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Mr. Bell’s top priorities are supporting the Veterans Administration (VA) and VBA Central Offices and 56 Regional Offices who are serving Veterans across the nation in six major areas: Acquisition, Administration, Facilities, Information Access and Privacy, Operations, Safety, Security, and Preparedness, and the Executive Management Office staff.
Prior to joining OMS, John served as Executive Director for Loan Guaranty Service where he was responsible for delivering VA Home Loan Benefits to his fellow Veterans. Mr. Bell has extensive mortgage industry experience having served in leadership roles with nationwide lenders for over 20 years before starting his career with VA in 2010. Mr. Bell leveraged his industry experience to reduce loan closing timeframes for VA-guaranteed loans and implement modernization of systems. Under Mr. Bell’s tenure the program excelled, increasing VA’s market share from 1% to 12%.
In his previous role as Deputy Director of LGY, Mr. Bell was instrumental in VA Loan Guaranty Service’s fast response during the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring that home loan benefits continued to be delivered to Veterans without delay.
As Assistant Director, Loan Policy & Valuation, Mr. Bell initiated Loan Guaranty’s transformation to better align with the fast-paced mortgage industry. Mr. Bell improved customer experience by automating Certificate of Eligibility (COE) functionality and implementing a nationwide phone system with subject matter experts answering calls in less than 60 seconds, advocating for Veterans when it matters most.
Serving as the Chief of Staff, Office of Economic Opportunity, Mr. Bell engineered a redesign of the organizational structure, providing data to improve decision making, and created a task force to establish business intelligence capabilities within the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Mr. Bell began his career in mortgage finance while attending Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. Mr. Bell served in the US Navy during Operation Restore Hope and the Gulf War.