Ken McCullum, Vice President and Chief Actuary of Principal Financial Group, is set to become the company’s new Chief Risk Officer (CRO), effective September 28th, 2020.
McCullum takes over from Julia Lawler, executive vice president and CRO, who is retiring after 36 years of service with the company.
He has served as the firm’s Chief Actuary for the past five years having joined from Delaware Life Insurance Company.
In his new role, he will be responsible for developing and overseeing the enterprise risk strategy and framework, leading internal audit and risk, financial and operational risk, and also the corporate actuarial department.
Dan Houston, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commented: “In addition to Ken’s extensive industry experience and knowledge, he’s spent the last five years with Principal helping to transform our finance capabilities across the organization. His strong financial and risk management acumen, coupled with his investment and product background, positions him well to understand the complexity of risk in our organization.”
During her time with the company, Lawler has held numerous leadership roles, including CRO since 2018 and as the firm’s Chief Investment Officer.
“Julia has helped lead us through some of the most challenging times in our company’s 141-year history while inspiring and developing countless other leaders along the way. She has remarkable versatility and intelligence – she’s been the right leader, in the right place, at the right time for our organization throughout her career. We appreciate her dedication and we wish her all the best in retirement,” said Houston.
In response to the above changes, Dwight Soethout, Vice President of Finance for the Principal General Account, will take on the role of Chief Actuary.
