US artificial intelligence business ServiceNow has appointed Hossein Nowbar as chief legal officer and president, replacing general counsel Russ Elmer who is transitioning to a new role.
Nowbar was most recently CLO at Microsoft until his departure in September last year. At ServiceNow, he will oversee the global legal, ethics, governance, compliance, risk and government affairs functions, working with the executive leadership team on the company’s long-term growth strategy.
He brings more than three decades of experience on issues relevant to AI, including IP, privacy, internet governance, cross-border data regulation and geopolitical matters.
Santa Clara, California-based ServiceNow is a business-focused AI platform.
Bill McDermott, chairman and CEO of ServiceNow, said: “Hossein brings the leadership this moment demands as we accelerate our profitable global growth strategy. Having served as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to senior technology and policy leaders at Microsoft, he has seen firsthand what world-class legal and corporate governance looks like at scale.
“Hossein represents a strategic addition as we enter our next phase of growth while upholding the trust of our customers, shareholders and partners worldwide.”
Nowbar left Microsoft after two years as CLO but 28 years with the company across a number of legal roles, including GC and deputy GC. He originally joined as an in-house attorney in 1997 from Davis Wright Tremaine.
He said: “Bill’s vision for ServiceNow’s future and the scale opportunities he’s driving are inspiring. I look forward to partnering with him and this exceptional team to strengthen a world-class legal, policy and governance framework that enables innovation and customer success while upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability.”
Elmer, meanwhile, will take on a role as special counsel, where he will continue providing strategic guidance and support on key legal and corporate matters. He had been GC since 2018 when he joined from Lending Club, where he held the same position. He also had earlier stints as deputy GC at PayPal and eBay.
Also this week, Nowbar’s former Microsoft colleague C.J. Mahoney left to join Facebook-owner Meta as its CLO. He was previously GC for Microsoft’s product, services and go-to market legal function.
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