Penn State has named Jennifer Santiago as its new assistant vice president of risk management and University risk officer. Santiago, formerly director of risk management at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp., takes over for Gary Langsdale, who will retire in December.

“Replacing a risk officer of Gary Langsdale’s caliber will be difficult. We’re delighted to attract a candidate with Jennifer’s credentials and breadth of experience, and look forward to her contributions and leadership in advancing Penn State’s robust risk management programs,” said Joe Doncsecz, associate vice president for finance and corporate controller.

“I’m honored to be part of Penn State and to serve as University risk officer, and I look forward to helping to advance the academic, research and service missions of the University to position it well for the future,” Santiago said.

As Penn State’s assistant vice president of risk management and University risk officer, Santiago will be responsible for leading the institutional Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program, including strategic, operational and hazard risks involving physical, personnel and financial resources across all of Penn State’s locations and operations.

Since March 2016, Santiago served as director of risk management at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. in East Hanover, New Jersey, leading the firm’s health care ethics and compliance risk management program and providing enterprise and strategic risk management direction to the organization. Prior to that, Santiago served as Novartis’ director of risk management and insurance from 2011 to 2016. Her professional experience includes work at Ingersoll Rand, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, and New York University Medical Center.

Santiago has been on the board of directors of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) since 2014 and is a member of the George Mason University Chief Risk Officer Advisory Council. 

Santiago earned her bachelor of arts from Rutgers University and MBA from Montclair State University. She is a certified risk manager through the RIMS-CRMP (Certified Risk Management Professional) program and has achieved the associate in risk management professional designation.