Community leader, philanthropist and retired insurance executive J. Barry Griswell died Friday morning. Griswell, 71, led Principal Financial Group through a number of historic events during his 20-year career before his retirement as chairman, president and CEO of the Des Moines-based financial services company in 2008. 

At 6 feet, 10 inches tall, Griswell was easy to spot at business or community functions, and for years was a consistent voice of leadership for the Greater Des Moines business community.

He led the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines from 2008 to 2011 and was active in numerous community leadership roles. Having overcome poverty and adversity in his youth to become a successful business and community leader, Griswell believed in giving back to the community and was an enthusiastic advocate for diversity and inclusion. 

“Principal and the entire Des Moines community mourn the loss of a great business mind, strong community leader, and dear friend in Barry Griswell,” said Dan Houston, Principal’s current chairman, president and CEO. “Barry helped write and navigate several significant moments in our company’s and community’s shared history, including taking Principal Financial Group public, preserving the Principal Charity Classic, and spearheading the Des Moines Riverwalk.

“He wasn’t just a visionary when it came to running a company,” Houston added. “He was a role model for giving back to your community and a champion of diversity and inclusion. Barry set the standard for many leaders in Principal, Des Moines, and the entire industry. He will be deeply missed.”

Griswell is survived by his wife, Michele Griswell, sons John and Michael Griswell, three brothers and two granddaughters. 

John Griswell said his father suffered from heart conditions over the years, but he wasn’t in poor health when he died in his sleep at his Florida vacation home Friday morning, the Des Moines Register reported. “He passed peacefully,” John Griswell said. “It’s part of life, it’s not easy.”

Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, hailed Griswell as a “leader among leaders.” 

“I am often the tallest person in the room, but not when I was around Barry,” Byers said. “At 6-foot-10-inches, he towered over me in both height and community impact. He chaired the Greater Des Moines Partnership and was one of the original Capital Crossroads Tri-Chairs. Barry was a driving force behind the development of the Principal Riverwalk in Downtown DSM and the Principal Charity Classic. He was also a champion of the United Way of Central Iowa, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. May his legacy inspire us all to step up our leadership and do better moving forward.”

When he first arrived in Des Moines in 1988, Griswell’s bosses at Principal encouraged him to get involved and suggested that he look into United Way of Central Iowa.  

“That was the turning point,” Griswell said in a 2013 profile article in the Business Record. While volunteering at a Latino resource center, he said, he saw himself in many of the young children he was helping. “I knew that I needed to do more,” he recalled. “I needed to pay it forward.” 

Griswell grew up without a father and had gotten into trouble before the Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta helped him to turn his life around. He eventually received a scholarship to play basketball at Berry College in Rome, Ga. He met the love of his life, Michele, there and discovered that he had a knack for business, which pushed him to get an MBA from Stetson University in Florida. He was honored in 2003 with the Horatio Alger Award for overcoming adversity to attain success. 

Among his leadership positions in many industry and community organizations, Griswell was chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, chair of the United Way of America National Tocqueville Council, chair of the American Council of Life Insurers, president of the Federation of Iowa Insurers, chairman of LIMRA International and chair of the Life Underwriting Training Council Board of Trustees. 

He and his wife, Michele, founded the Harvest Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the economic conditions and education for the Crow Creek tribe in South Dakota. 

His legacy will live on, said Kristi Knous, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. 

“As past CEO of the Community Foundation, Barry’s passion for community engagement elevated the organization as a convener and leader to ensure we are truly better together,” Knous said in a statement. “His tremendous heart for giving combined with his unique ability to bring people together to address community challenges created a legacy that continues to make Greater Des Moines greater. His legacy will live on through the lives that have literally been changed because of his generosity, advocacy and vision. Our community is forever changed for the better because of his leadership.”