Visionary Leaders Legacy Forum - December 2025
Featured Leader: Dan Houston, Principal®
The Visionary Leaders Legacy Forum is a powerful speaker series spotlighting executives who are nearing or have recently entered retirement after decades of impactful leadership. Each month, we gather to hear from a different visionary as they share their personal leadership journey, lessons learned, defining moments, and the legacy they hope to leave behind.
This "last lecture"-style experience offers a rare opportunity to reflect on a lifetime of leadership and gain wisdom from some of our region’s most respected voices. Whether you’re an emerging leader or a seasoned executive, you’ll walk away inspired and better equipped to shape your own legacy.
Come learn from the legends who helped shape our business community—and discover how their stories can guide your own leadership path.
Daniel J. Houston is executive chairman of Principal Financial Group® — a leading global financial services company with $741 billion in assets under management.
Houston joined the company in 1984 and served in key business unit leadership roles before spending nearly a decade as president and CEO of the company.
Under his leadership, Houston led the 145-year-old company through significant growth and transformation. He focused the company strategy on the highest value opportunities and growth drivers to serve its 68 million customers and shareholders around the world. This transformation included:
• Expanding the breadth and capabilities of Principal Asset ManagementSM by increasing the reach of its global real estate investment team and offerings into Europe and Asia, adding new, in-demand private market investment strategies, and growing the scale and scope of its global fixed income team to include private credit, emerging markets debt, and liability-driven investing solutions.
• Significantly growing the scale of the Principal U.S. retirement business.
• Continuing to grow the linkages between the company’s global retirement expertise and global asset management capabilities – leading to the expansion of its target date and target risk fund franchise beyond the U.S. into Latin America and Southeast Asia.
In addition to his role with the Principal Financial Group Board of Directors, Houston serves on the Boards of ADT Inc. and Arch Capital Group Ltd. He currently chairs the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University. And he’s been active in both industry and community leadership roles throughout his career.
Houston has frequently addressed the U.S. Congress and government officials from around the world, advocating for the advancement of financial access and promoting capital markets globally. In 2023, Houston received the Ray Lillywhite Award from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), honoring his distinguished career in the retirement and investment management field and the impact he has had enhancing Americans' economic security.
Houston received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1984 and an honorary doctorate from the institution in 2022.
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