Patrick Halter, the CEO of Principal Asset Management, the $651 investment arm of the Fortune 500 insurance company, is retiring after working there 40 years.
Kamal Bhatia, the global head of investments and president of Principal Asset Management, will become the new CEO February 10 and Halter’s last day will be April 2, the company said.
Halter was a pillar of the global insurance company’s giant investment arm. He recently led the integration of the asset management and international pension businesses but he’s known for much more. Halter effectively started what ultimately became Principal’s real estate business, one of the largest in the world, Bhatia told Institutional Investor. He also recruited standout professionals to the company (like GSAM’s Michael Goosay), was instrumental in developing its liability-driven investing business, and helped grow its presence internationally on the way to becoming one of the biggest asset managers. Before he was the CEO, Halter was the chief financial officer and led its real estate business for decades.
“He grew up on the debt side, but he really quickly identified and added talent on the real estate equity side. Many of those individuals have been with us a very long time and continue to stay with the firm,” Bhatia said.
Halter is a member of Principal’s mutual fund board and the board of governors of the Investment Company Institute. He previously served on the board of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin, where he attended as a student.
Bhatia called Halter an “amazing” board member because he is detail oriented and hardworking but doesn’t micromanage anyone. “He knows exactly the right question to ask and how to ask it,” said Bhatia.
Even as the CEO, Halter is generous with his time and gives employees undivided attention, perhaps because he has more energy than others. Halter remains an avid long-distance runner, Bhatia said.
“It’s very rare when somebody could just represent such a big organization as a person. A lot of organizations have a lot of leaders and you have to meet a lot of leaders,” said Bhatia, referring to when he met Halter for the first time while interviewing to work at Principal. “He had the intellectual intensity of a very, very smart investment professional, which we all see obviously [in New York]. But he also balanced it with such humbleness. That very powerful combination struck me. I didn’t tell him, but he sold me on Principal before I had to meet others. That just still sticks out to me, how one person could bring it all together so quickly.”
Today, the asset management business is a core part of the company — the engine behind its retirement and benefits and protection businesses — and Halter helped create that, Dan Houston, the chairman, president and CEO of Principal, said in a statement.
“Pat has helped set the course for asset management at Principal for 40 years, helping us to grow to more than 850 investment professionals, serving clients in more than 80 markets,” Houston said.
