Penn State appoints chief risk officer

Penn State named Jennifer Santiago to be assistant vice president of risk management and university risk officer, effective Sept. 12, the university said in a statement Monday.

Ms. Santiago, who since March 2016 had been director of risk management at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. in East Hanover, New Jersey, succeeds Gary Langsdale, who will retire in December, the statement said. She had headed Novartis’ health care ethics and compliance risk management program.

She will lead the enterprise risk management program at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, including “strategic, operational and hazard risks involving physical, personnel and financial resources across all of Penn State’s locations and operations,” the statement said.

Ms. Santiago also has served on the board of directors of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. since 2014, and is a member of the George Mason University Chief Risk Officer Advisory Council, the statement said.

Mr. Langsdale had previously been named to Business Insurance's 2009 Risk Management Honor Roll. 

“We’re delighted to attract a candidate with Jennifer’s credentials and breadth of experience and look forward to her contributions and leadership,” Joe Doncsecz, associate vice president for finance and corporate controller, said in the statement.