Biography

Amy Friedrich is president of Benefits and Protection with Principal Financial Group^®. Benefits and Protection serves more than 130,000 employers and 4 million people. Friedrich leads 3,200 employees responsible for group employee benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and nonqualified deferred compensation, along with the distribution arm, which includes Principal Securities^®, the broker-dealer organization, and network of affiliated financial professionals. 

Friedrich joined Principal^® in 2000 in a performance improvement role for Corporate Strategic Development. Later, as a director in that division, she helped define a long-term strategy for the specialty benefits division and in 2004, she moved into that area. Since then, she’s held many leadership roles, including second vice president in 2006 and vice president of group benefits in 2008, a role in which she led the segment to above-industry growth. She took on oversight of individual disability insurance in 2015 when she was named a senior vice president. She assumed her current position in 2017. In 2021, Friedrich was listed as one of the named inventors on a granted patent covering a system and method for benefits enrollment.¹ 

Friedrich is active in community organizations including United Way. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Buena Vista University, and on the Board of Directors of Greater Des Moines Partnership and of LL Global (the parent company of LIMRA, LOMA, and Secure Investment Institute^®). 

She holds an undergraduate degree from Buena Vista University and a master’s degree from Purdue University.

¹ Benefits Enrollment Server System and Method (U.S. Patent No. 11,042,843). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.