Ex-Principal CEO David Hurd dies at 86

Former Principal Financial CEO David Hurd, 86, died Saturday afternoon after falling from The Plaza condominiums complex at 300 Walnut St. in Des Moines.

Melanie Clothier, property manager of the Plaza, confirmed Hurd's death to its residents in an email, which was obtained by The Des Moines Register. Hurd was a longtime resident of the building, and the email said his wife, Trudy, is asking for privacy.

"The term I would use, ‘a heroic visionary,’ is probably the best way I would describe my good friend Dave Hurd," said Dan Houston, the current CEO of Principal. Speaking with the Register from the Bravo Des Moines Gala, an event that celebrates the arts and culture scene of Des Moines, Houston celebrated his former colleague.

“The first thing you’d know about Dave, he’s one of the smartest guys you’d ever meet," Houston said. "He was a very humble man, very capable, diverse, global, international and kind. He listened so, so very well. Again, it’s another sign of a successful community visionary and a business leader that those who are able to listen, process and generate what is thought to be then the best ideas for the entire community.”

G. David Hurd was chief executive officer of Principal from 1989 to 1994, according to the Iowa Business Hall of Fame. Hurd, born in Chicago on Dec. 14, 1929, graduated from Michigan State University in 1951.

He came to Des Moines in 1954 to work for Banker's Life, now Principal Financial, and stayed with the company for 40 years before retiring in 1994, although he continued to serve as director of Principal Mutual Life Insurance Co. He was inducted into the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in 1994. Last year, he was presented with the 2015 Eychaner Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Emergency crews were called to Third and Walnut streets about 12:40 p.m. Saturday afternoon after passers-by saw a man fall to his death. Sgt. Brian Vance of the Des Moines Police Department told the Register at the time that the incident was being investigated as a suicide.

Houston became CEO in August 2015 and credits Hurd's vision with the success the company enjoys today.

"He was creating relationships in China, in Japan, in Latin America, in Europe 25 years ago," Houston said. "He knew that for Principal to be successful, we would have to push into these international markets. It was Dave’s vision that we live on today."

Hurd is credited with helping transform Principal Financial into a multibillion-dollar company and was a decorated activist within the Des Moines community. He and his wife Trudy were leaders of the Prairie Club, an exclusive group of intellectuals who would debate heavily researched topics. He was also a member of Iowa Rivers Revival, a nonprofit advocacy group promoting the education of the state's waterways.

"Going forward will be challenging," Hurd wrote for the Register on Dec. 22, 2014, regarding the "drowning machine" dams in the Des Moines River. "It will take all our voices, it will take steadfast, inclusive leadership, and it will take a significant financial investment in our future. I have come to love rivers."

Hurd and his wife were active nature advocates. In 2013, they started a $500,000 endowment fund to maintain the Broken Kettle Grasslands preserve near Sioux City.

Twenty years previous, Hurd gave $500,000 to The Nature Conservancy in Iowa to acquire the first 642 acres of the preserve. Now at 3,217 acres, Broken Kettle is Iowa's largest remaining native prairie and is home to bison and rattlesnakes.

"The kettle has been here for 10,000 years, but if it isn't properly protected, it will succumb to development," Hurd said at the time.

Hurd was also an avid Scrabble player, co-founding the Des Moines Scrabble Club. Register records show that there is even a namesake award in Hurd's honor for up-and-coming Scrabble players. Houston also shared another one of Hurd's hobbies: ballroom dancing.

"Dave never did things halfway," Houston said. "If he was going to be a ballroom dancer, then he was going to be the best ballroom dancer. He challenged many in this community to a good game of Scrabble."

Matthew Patane contributed to this article.