10 Principal Financial Group IT leaders
Vice president and CIO of enterprise business solutions, vice president of IT and director of enterprise cloud architecture are among the roles held by these ten Principal Financial Group IT leaders. A reader can learn how IT leaders work at Principal Financial Group from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Casie Muller
LinkedInExperience: ServiceNow Platform Leader Director - Engineering · Principal Financial Group
Casie Muller has been ServiceNow Platform Leader Director - Engineering at Principal Financial Group in Adair, Iowa, since June 2022. Casie Muller was Service Owner Product Manager Assistant Director Engineering (2018–2022), Sr Software Engineer - Leader (2018–2020), Mobile Development Champion and Sr Engineer I - Leader (2012–2017) and Sr IT-Business Analyst - Leader (2010–2012) at Principal Financial Group.
Chris Mart
LinkedInExperience: Director - IS Cloud and On Premise Platforms · Principal Financial Group
Chris Mart has been Director - IS Cloud and On Premise Platforms at Principal Financial Group in West Des Moines, Iowa, since September 2022, and was an Enterprise Architect at the company from 2018 to 2022 and a Software Engineer from 2001 to 2018. The profile describes work as an engineer, technical coach, enterprise architect and executive leader.
Drew Buhrow
LinkedInExperience: VP - IT · Principal Financial Group
Drew Buhrow has been VP - IT at Principal Financial Group in the Des Moines area since September 2025, and the profile headline names the role as Vice President & Head of IT Infrastructure. Drew Buhrow was AVP - Technology (2020–2025), Director - IT (2015–2020), Assistant Director - IT (2007–2015) and IT Leader Analyst - Senior (2004–2007) at Principal Financial Group.
Emily Eckman
LinkedInExperience: Assistant Vice President - IT · Principal Financial Group
Emily Eckman has been Assistant Vice President - IT at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, since January 2023, and the profile headline describes responsibility for technology supporting the Workplace Benefits division. Emily Eckman was Vice President, Principal Global Services (2022–2023), Assistant Vice President - IT (2018–2022), Director - IT (2017–2018) and Director - IT, Information Security (2012–2017) at Principal Financial Group.
Jason Ricklefs
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering · Principal Financial Group
Jason Ricklefs has been Director of Engineering at Principal Financial Group in Urbandale, Iowa, since September 2024. Jason Ricklefs was Group Engineering Manager Portfolio Management & Servicing at John Deere from 2019 to 2024 and held IT division lead roles for retail and wholesale financing there, and the profile describes agile software delivery and tech stack modernization.
Jim Wittry
LinkedInExperience: Director - Enterprise Cloud Architecture · Principal Financial Group
Jim Wittry has been Director - Enterprise Cloud Architecture at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, since May 2021, and the profile headline names enterprise architecture for the AI domain. Jim Wittry was a Senior Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) from 2020 to 2021 and an IT Consulting Architect at Principal Financial Group from 2001 to 2020.
Rajesh Singi
LinkedInExperience: Director, Enterprise Data & Analytics Architecture · Principal Financial Group
Rajesh Singi has been Director, Enterprise Data & Analytics Architecture at Principal Financial Group in Marietta, Georgia, since December 2025. Rajesh Singi was Director, Data & AI Architecture at Nike from 2021 to 2025 and held CTO roles for digital growth and commerce and for a digital data and analytics platform at IBM, where Rajesh Singi was also a Distinguished Engineer.
Roni Schuling
LinkedInExperience: Director - Enterprise Architecture - EA Product Portfolio · Principal Financial Group
Roni Schuling has been Director - Enterprise Architecture - EA Product Portfolio at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, since May 2026, and was Director - Enterprise Architecture - Information & Data from 2021 to 2026. Roni Schuling was an Enterprise Architect from 2014 to 2021 and an Assistant Director - IT at the company from 1994 to 2014.
Ryan Downing
LinkedInExperience: VP and CIO of Enterprise Business Solutions · Principal Financial Group
Ryan Downing has been VP and CIO of Enterprise Business Solutions at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, since March 2021. Ryan Downing was AVP and CIO of Corporate Services (2020–2021), Director - Engineering and Head of Principal International Infrastructure (2019), Chief Technology Officer - Latin America (2016–2019) and Director - IT (2015–2016) at Principal Financial Group.
Ryan Sears
LinkedInExperience: Director - Engineering · Principal Financial Group
Ryan Sears has been Director - Engineering at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, since March 2023, and was Assistant Director - IT there from 2018 to 2024. Ryan Sears was IT System Analyst - Sr (2011–2018), IT System Analyst - Lead (2006–2011) and IT Application Associate (2002–2006) at Principal Financial Group.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area, such as infrastructure, cloud and on-premise platforms, enterprise and data architecture, the ServiceNow platform or engineering for a business division, to the question you face. Weigh whether they run shared platforms or lead technology for one business, since each sees IT priorities differently.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you decide which workloads move to the cloud and which stay on premise?
- 02What does a good partnership between IT and a business division look like?
- 03How do architecture teams keep data and platforms consistent across the company?
Reaching Principal Financial Group IT leaders
How can I contact one of these Principal Financial Group IT leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Principal Financial Group, based on profile data retrieved on October 18, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Principal Financial Group IT leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Principal Financial Group IT leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
Request a correction or removal