ServiceNow appoints Hossein Nowbar as President and CLO

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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 5, 2026--

ServiceNow (NYSE NOW), the AI control tower for business reinvention, today announced that Hossein Nowbar has joined the company as President and Chief Legal Officer (CLO). Russ Elmer, who has served as Chief Legal Officer since 2018, will transition to the role of Special Counsel, where he will continue to provide strategic guidance and ensure continuity on key legal and corporate matters.

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Most recently serving as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Corporation, Nowbar brings extensive experience shaping policy priorities, fostering public trust, navigating complex regulatory landscapes, and ensuring business operations are conducted with integrity and compliance around the world.

“ServiceNow has long been a valued partner to Microsoft, and I’m excited that Hossein will build on his success as he steps into this important role at the company,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President at Microsoft. “Having worked closely with Hossein for more than 25 years, I can say first-hand that ServiceNow is incredibly fortunate to have him.”

Nowbar brings more than three decades of experience at the intersection of technology, law, and public policy. A recognized expert on critical issues including artificial intelligence, intellectual property, privacy and security, internet governance, cross-border data regulation, and geopolitical matters, Nowbar possesses a deep understanding of the complex challenges that enterprise technology companies face in a rapidly evolving global market and regulatory environment.

“Hossein brings the leadership this moment demands as we accelerate our profitable global growth strategy,” said Bill McDermott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ServiceNow. “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.”

“I’m thrilled to join ServiceNow at such an exciting moment for both the company and the enterprise software industry, and deeply grateful for my time with Brad and the entire Microsoft team,” said Nowbar. “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.”

In his role as President and CLO, Nowbar will oversee global legal, ethics, governance, compliance, risk, ServiceNow.org, impact and sustainability, and corporate and government affairs organizations, partnering with the executive leadership team to advance responsible innovation, strengthen trust, and support ServiceNow’s long-term growth strategy.

Throughout 25+ years at Microsoft, Nowbar rose through increasingly senior leadership roles, starting as the frontline general counsel to Microsoft’s most strategic businesses, such as Cloud and AI, advancing to lead the company’s corporate and legal affairs functions as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and culminating as Chief Legal Officer.

Nowbar is a member of the Pro Bono Institute’s Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board, a board member of the LCLD and serves on the Association of Corporate Counsel Global Board of Directors.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is the AI control tower for business reinvention. The ServiceNow AI Platform integrates with any cloud, any model, and any data source to orchestrate how work flows across the enterprise. By unifying legacy systems, departmental tools, cloud applications, and AI agents, ServiceNow provides a single pane of glass that connects intelligence to execution across every corner of business. With more than 75 billion workflows running on the platform each year, ServiceNow helps organizations turn fragmented operations into coordinated, autonomous workflows that deliver measurable results. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at www.servicenow.com.

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SOURCE: ServiceNow

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PUB: 01/05/2026 01:00 PM/DISC: 01/05/2026 01:00 PM

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