Ricardo Ortiz is the president and CEO of the award-winning GDHCC. He was unanimously chosen by the GDHCC Board of Directors in 2012 to lead the organization.
During his tenure as the Chamber's chairman of the board, Ortiz took on some of the management responsibilities. He assisted with the operations, financial, and budgetary management, and instituted an updated employee handbook. He provided grant and programming oversight, instituted internal audit procedures, oversaw corporate relations and fundraising, established entrepreneur partner relationships, and participated in small business advocacy.
Before he joined the GDHCC as president and CEO, Ortiz worked as an attorney, specializing in business and tort litigation. He has represented individuals, small and large businesses, financial institutions, leasing companies, governmental entities, and nonprofit organizations and has served as general counsel to Boards of Directors.
Ortiz’s community involvement includes serving on the Dallas ISD Superintendent’s Advisory Board, Dallas ISD M/WBE Advisory Committee, North Texas Commission, Visit Dallas Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Leadership Dallas Class of 2013.
He has served as a board member of the Concilio, North Texas Navidad en el Barrio Foundation, Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the North Texas Commission. He was also a member of the DFW Airport Availability and Disparity Study Review team, Junior League of Dallas Community Advisory Board, Dallas Citizens Council, JFK 50th Anniversary Committee, and the Mayor Mike Rawlings' advisory and transition team.
A native of El Paso, Texas, Ortiz worked as a Bristol Meyers Squibb/Ventiv Health U.S. Sales pharmaceutical representative prior to attending St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas, where he received his Juris Doctor in 2003. Ortiz graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management.