Former Pro Hockey Player Scores a Spot in the Principal Hall of Fame

MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
When injury cut his professional hockey career short, Daniel
Mandich took a shot at the financial services profession. Now, he is
the newest member of the Principal Financial Group(R) Career
Distribution Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame is a distinction given to producers who have a
20-year history of achievement in sales. The first producers were
inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949, and Mandich became the 145th
inductee at the company's annual sales meeting, held this year in San
Francisco, Calif.

Career producers work with growing businesses, their executives
and employees on identifying their financial needs. These needs can be
met by the full range of financial services products offered by the
Principal Financial Group.

"I've always lived by the philosophy that if you take care of your
clients, the rest takes care of itself," Mandich said. "My career
satisfaction comes from meeting the needs of our customers."

Mandich joined The Principal(R) in 1986 after a four-year career
as a defenseman with the National Hockey League's Minnesota North
Stars (1982-86). A knee injury ended his career, which also included
junior hockey in his native Canada and four years at Ohio State
University. He is a producer with the Minnesota Business Center of The
Principal and lives in Bloomington, Minn., with his wife Caroline and
three children.

"Dan's taken a lot of what he learned on the ice - most notably
his work ethic and perseverance - and translated that into success
outside the game of hockey," said Nick Cecere, vice president of
Career Distribution at The Principal. "His focus on providing
excellent customer service and his genuine concern for his clients has
enabled Dan to build a very successful career."

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal (R))(1) is a
leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a
wide range of financial products and services, including retirement
and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking
through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member
of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $304.2 billion
in assets under management(2) and serves some 18.8 million customers
worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and
the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more
information, visit www.principal.com.

(1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are
registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a
member of the Principal Financial Group.

(2) As of March 31, 2008

Principal Financial Group
Alyssa Kreutzfeldt, 651-287-5469
kreutzfeldt.alyssa@principal.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008