Principal Financial Group Inc. is set to release its fourth quarter 2009 financial and operating results on Feb. 8. On Feb. 9, Larry Zimpleman, president and CEO, and Terry Lillis, senior vice president and CFO, will lead a discussion of the results during a live conference call beginning at 9 a.m. Other senior managers will also participate in the Q&A portion of the conference call. A copy of the earnings release and financial supplement will be posted at www.principal.com/investor

Charlie Wittmack, an explorer, speaker and attorney best known for surviving an ascent of Mount Everest after making two back-to-back summit attempts, will be the featured speaker at the Iowa Asian Alliance’s January social networking event. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Jan. 11 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Jasper Winery, 2400 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines. Wittmack, who has been organizing major expeditions for nearly 15 years, has also completed numerous marathon swims, and made a 2008 attempt to swim the English Channel.

Janet Metcalf has been elected the 2010 chairperson of the Broadlawns Medical Center board of trustees. A six-year veteran on the board, Metcalf was appointed in December 2003 to fill a vacant seat and was subsequently elected to a six-year term. Her current term as a Broadlawns trustee runs through December 2010. She served nine terms in the Iowa House of Representatives until her retirement in 2002.

Drake University’s Certificate in Business Management program is set to kick off on Jan. 29. The program, offered by Drake’s Center for Professional Studies, is intended to provide opportunities to update and enhance leadership and professional skills and will cover topics such as Becoming an Effective Leader, Business in the World Economy and Strategic Decision-Making in a Business Environment. The cost of the 32-hour program is $975 per person. For more information, go to www.cbpa.drake.edu/cps/. All seven sessions will be held on the Drake campus on Friday afternoons through March 12.

FBL Financial Group Inc. has announced that Russell Wiltgen will join the company as chief actuary. Wiltgen, who has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, will be a member of the organization’s management team and have overall responsibility for actuarial matters and enterprise risk management. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer James Hohmann. Wiltgen is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.