The executive who led the Principal's [profile] mutual fund arm through the WaMu deal is saying goodbye next month.

Dan Houston, president and chief operating officer of the Des Moines, Iowa-based insurance giant, confirms that on March 13 Ralph Eucher, 62, will retire from the Principal. Fundsters may remember Eucher as the president and CEO of Principal Funds when the insurer bought Washington Mutual's mutual fund business in 2006.

A 21-year Principal veteran, Eucher joined the insurer in 1994 in the commercial real estate business. He later worked in the retirement division, and he took over the mutual fund business in 1999. In 2008 he shifted to leading the Principal's human resources, and now he serves as executive vice president in charge of corporate real estate. Among other things, Eucher is overseeing the Principal's massive, multi-year redesign of its whole corporate campus.

An alumnus of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, Eucher served as president of General Growth Properties prior to joining the Principal. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE