AlixPartners appoints Maritza Okata Chief Legal Officer
NEW YORK (March 31, 2022) – AlixPartners, the global consulting firm, today announced the appointment of Maritza Okata as Chief Legal Officer and a Managing Director, leading the firm’s legal, compliance, and risk functions. Maritza will also be a member of AlixPartners’ senior management team and will report to the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Freakley. She joins the firm on April 1, 2022.
“As the role of the Chief Legal Officer has become increasingly multi-faceted, we are delighted to have Maritza as a thought partner and strategic leader at AlixPartners and to leverage her remarkable breadth and depth of experience and talent in this key position,” said Simon Freakley, CEO of AlixPartners. “Maritza has established an exceptional track record of managing complex business and legal matters and transactions across the globe and multiple industries. She brings significant capabilities in ESG and enterprise risk management and as a people leader who has advanced diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the community. Maritza’s unique insights will add tangible value to our firm and the work we do for our clients.”
Maritza joins AlixPartners from Fannie Mae, where she is a Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel and serves as divisional general counsel for Fannie Mae’s $400+ billion multifamily housing business. Before joining Fannie Mae in 2020, Maritza held partner roles at global law firms O’Melveny & Myers and Vinson & Elkins, where her practice spanned M&A, private equity investments, corporate financings and restructurings, and cross-border transactions.
Maritza, who spent her formative years in the United States, Brazil, and Nigeria, received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from Yale Law School. She was a law clerk to Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court and to the Honorable Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and, before attending law school, was a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.
While in private legal practice, Maritza was recognized for her expertise in M&A, Energy Transactions, and Project Finance by The Legal 500, and by Latin Lawyer 250 for her work on cross-border private equity transactions. Maritza was recently named a “Black Leader Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Journal, which honors individuals who have blazed new trails, mentored others, advanced diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the community, and excelled in their chosen fields. Maritza is also a member of PODER25™, the General Counsel talent pipeline initiative of the Hispanic National Bar Association. She has served since 2013 on the Alumni Executive Council of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, including as its past Chair, and is a member of the Yale Law School’s Executive Committee.
Commenting on her appointment, Maritza said, “I am thrilled to join AlixPartners and to return to the world of management consulting, where I began my professional career. I very much look forward to working alongside my new colleagues to accelerate the growth and transformation of the firm and our clients, particularly in today’s highly disrupted environment.”
About AlixPartners
AlixPartners is a results-driven global consulting firm that specializes in helping businesses successfully address their most complex and critical challenges. Our clients include companies, corporate boards, law firms, investment banks, private equity firms, and others. Founded in 1981, AlixPartners is headquartered in New York and has offices in more than 20 cities around the world. For more information, visit www.alixpartners.com.