IDG's Computerworld named the Principal Financial Group® a 2014 Best Places to Work in IT, one of 100 top organizations that challenge their IT staffs while providing great benefits and compensation.

The Principal® ranks 18th among large companies on the 2014 Computerworld list. The list is compiled based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, career development, training and retention.

“This is the 13th straight year The Principal has made Computerworld’s list. Much of that is because of the outstanding IT business talent we have here,” said Gary Scholten, executive vice president and chief information officer at The Principal. “Our IT professionals are challenged to push the envelope and are a core part of each and every business unit, providing us greater integration, innovation and success.”

The Computerworld award recognizes The Principal for providing IT staff with exceptional development opportunities, close business/IT alignment, outstanding benefits, and a progressive work environment emphasizing flexibility and achievement of meaningful work/life balance. Half of the list ranking is based on results from an anonymous employee survey compiled by Computerworld.

"Hiring the best and the brightest IT pros, offering them competitive pay and providing top-notch benefits is just the beginning for the outstanding employers on this year's Best Places to Work in IT list," said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. "Both newcomers to the list and rock-steady stalwarts nurture their talent with challenging business-critical projects, extensive training opportunities and ongoing career development programs. They invest in their own futures by investing in their employees."

About the Best Places to Work in IT
The Best Places to Work in Information Technology (IT) list is an annual ranking of the top 100 work environments for technology professionals by IDG’s Computerworld. The list is compiled based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, career development, training and retention. In addition, Computerworld conducts extensive surveys of IT workers, and their responses factor heavily in determining the rankings.

About Computerworld
Computerworld is the leading IT media brand helping Sr. IT, business decision-makers and key influencers navigate change with effective business strategy. Computerworld enables the IT value chain with unique editorial coverage from setting strategies to deriving value from core to edge technologies. Computerworld’s award-winning website (www.computerworld.com), publication, focused conference series, custom solutions and research forms the hub of the world’s largest (40+ edition) global IT media network and provides opportunities for IT vendors to engage this audience. Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 7.1 million monthly page views (Omniture, February 2013) and was recognized in BtoB’s 2013 Media Power 50 list; recognition Computerworld has received for more than 5 consecutive years. Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading media, events and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.

Note: All product and company names are trademarks of their respective organizations.

About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)1 is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $495.5 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 19.2 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, 2014.