Principal Financial Group issued the following announcement on Nov. 18.

Among 75 corporations and companies in the Fintech vertical category, Principal® was recognized today with the Corporate Innovation Award from Plug and Play at its Virtual Winter Summit 2020. Plug and Play makes this distinct recognition to corporations that have demonstrated a commitment to expanding their innovation culture and cultivating relationships with startups, other businesses, and thought leaders within the Plug and Play ecosystem.

"Innovation is what helps us successfully deliver our purpose to foster greater accessibility to financial security. As we look for new ways to address access in areas such as products, experiences, advice, and education, innovation can create avenues to help solve problems, to create value for our customers, and to evolve our business," said Bruce Hentschel, vice president of corporate strategy for Principal. "Leveraging the Plug and Play ecosystem allows us to engage a broader set of teams for greater diversity of thought, talent, and background," he added.

With the abrupt changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Principal leaned heavily into its relationship with Plug and Play to embrace uncertainty as an opportunity to welcome creative problem-solving. Principal accelerated the utilization of technology and found ways to help address customer needs by engaging startups for solutions related to electronic health records, digital underwriting, digital payments, and online notarizations, to name a few.

“At Plug and Play, we believe our global network provides a platform where corporations can not only progress towards achieving their innovation goals, but also where they can learn from their peers, entrepreneurs, and ultimately, help transform the future of their industry. Principal has shown a tremendous commitment to cultivating relationships through the Plug and Play Open Innovation Ecosystem in order to foster innovation and collaboration both internally and externally, which is why they were chosen for our Fintech Corporate Innovation Award. We want to congratulate Principal and look forward to continuing our relationship together.” Said Michael Olmstead, Chief Revenue Officer at Plug and Play.

Principal is committed to helping customers navigate change and uncertainty, including recovery from the global pandemic and long-term trends that influence individuals' ability to protect their financial future. Since 2016, the company has reviewed hundreds of opportunities, had dozens of deal flows and actively engaged over one hundred startups ratifying its commitment to advancing capabilities through relationships. Hentschel concludes: "Looking ahead, we're planning to continue to grow our internal bench of innovators—both formally and informally—because we know that transformational ideas can come from anywhere."

Original source: https://www.principal.com/about-us/news-room/news-releases/principal-financial-group-receives-fintech-corporate-innovation-award-plug-and-play