Dan Houston

Daniel Houston is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Principal Financial Group®. He is responsible for overall management of the company.

Houston joined Principal® in 1984 in Dallas. He has held several management positions, being named senior vice president in 2000, executive vice president in 2006 and president of Retirement and Income Solutions in 2008. He was named president and chief operating officer in 2014 before assuming his current role in 2015.

Houston is a member of the Business Roundtable. He is past chair of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) and is chair of the Greater Des Moines Water Trails initiative and serves on several boards including Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), Iowa State University Business School Dean’s Advisory Council, Future Ready Iowa, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), Greater Des Moines Partnership, and Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. In 2019, the Greater Des Moines Committee named Houston to the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in recognition of his significant contributions to the enhancement and development of the state’s economy.

Houston received his bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1984. He has appeared before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to discuss the importance of educating the workforce about the financial needs in retirement. Houston joined the joint forum of U.S. Senate Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to discuss “Private-Sector Retirement Savings Plans: What Does the Future Hold?” He also authored a chapter in “The Upside of Aging” published by John Wiley & Sons in 2014, on the keys to achieving financial security in retirement.