Biography

Deanna Strable is chair, president, and chief executive officer of Principal Financial Group^®, responsible for overall management of the company, including its wholly owned subsidiary, Principal Life Insurance Company^®.

Strable joined Principal^® in 1990 as an actuarial assistant and throughout her career has held more than 15 roles across different functions of the organization. For the past 20 years she has been instrumental in leading business strategy and operations, holding senior management roles as Principal has undergone significant growth and transformation.

She helped build the company’s Benefits and Protection business—as the first leader of its Specialty Benefits division and in leading the integration with the life insurance business—before becoming business unit president in 2015. Strable then served as the company’s chief financial officer for almost a decade. In August 2024, she was named president and chief operating officer. She became president and CEO in January 2025, adding board chair in September of that year.

In addition to her role within Principal^®, Strable regularly contributes to thought leadership hubs such as the Milken Institute, covering a variety of financial services topics, including the role of technology in achieving financial security and improving financial access around the world. She is also a member of the Business Roundtable.

Strable serves on the Board of Directors for Elevance Health, Inc. and Simpson College. She currently chairs United Way of Central Iowa’s Workplace Giving Campaign and is vice chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership's Board of Directors and Executive Committee. She previously served on the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and chaired the Board of Directors for LIMRA LOMA Global (LL Global, Inc.).

Strable received her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.