Clarissa Ortiz

Clarissa Ortiz serves as Vice President and Chief of Staff in the Office of the CEO at Northwestern Mutual, where strategic advisory and operational leadership support President & CEO Tim Gerend. With over a decade of experience at Northwestern Mutual, Clarissa has held leadership roles including Vice President for Risk Product Growth & Market Intelligence and Senior Director for Risk Products Change Management and Sales Strategy. Prior roles encompass corporate strategy, transformation, and field growth consulting, where strategic initiatives were implemented to drive organizational effectiveness and sustainable growth. Clarissa has also contributed to the advertising industry as an Account Executive for Meredith Corporation and Sinclair Broadcast Group. An alumna of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and Spanish, Clarissa furthered education through an MBA from Lubar College of Business and completed the Corporate Executive Development Program at SMU Cox School of Business.