Chris Littlefield, current executive vice president and general counsel, was named president of Principal Financial Group’s Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS) effective April 1, according to a Feb. 3 announcement by the firm.
The move follows the decision of Renee Schaaf, current president of RIS, to retire after more than 41 years with the company.
“When we asked Chris to join Principal as general counsel, we were keenly aware of his depth of operational and leadership experience, in addition to his legal expertise, and considered this in our succession planning,” said Dan Houston, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Principal. “I’m confident he’s the right leader to grow our retirement business, create value across our lines of business, and champion digital transformation for the benefit of our plan sponsors and participants.”
Littlefield will be responsible for leading the retirement business at Principal, serving the retirement savings and income needs of over 40,000 employers and 10 million individual customers, according to the announcement.
Previously, he served as president and CEO of two life insurance and annuity companies—Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Holdings (2014-2018) and Aviva USA Corporation (2009-2013). When he joined Principal in 2020, he was responsible for leading the legal, government relations and compliance departments. He also served as corporate secretary to the Board of Directors.
As part of the transition, Mark Lagomarcino, who previously served as senior vice president and deputy general counsel, will step into the general counsel role. He will also serve as corporate secretary to the Board.
Schaaf led the U.S. retirement business at Principal from 2019 to 2022, and most recently led the firm through the transformation of its retirement business with the acquisition of the Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust.
“Renee led our retirement business through a period of significant growth, advancing the business to industry-leading market positions,” added Houston. “She helped us build on the success of our retirement business during a time of unprecedented transformation, while helping to support our employees and customers through the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. We wish her all the best in retirement.”
