DDN has appointed Michelle Rosen as its first chief legal officer, creating a new top legal role at the Los Angeles-based AI data storage company. Rosen joins from Metropolis Technologies, where she was general counsel, and brings more than two decades of legal leadership experience across the technology industry.
She will oversee legal, governance, regulatory and commercial matters. Guido Torrini, DDN's chief financial and operating officer, said: "As we build the next generation of DDN, we need leaders who have successfully helped world-class technology companies navigate rapid growth while building organisations that can scale for the long term. Michelle brings exactly that combination of strategic judgement, operational leadership and legal expertise. She will be an important partner to our executive team as we continue expanding globally and investing in the future of the company."
Rosen's career path
Rosen spent just over a year and a half at Metropolis Technologies. She previously served as CLO at AI and data business Collibra for more than six years. Earlier in-house roles included general counsel for Delta Gali Industries' US business, IMAX China, and associate general counsel at IMAX. She began her legal career in private practice at Shearman & Sterling in New York.
She said: "DDN is one of the most exciting technology companies in the AI industry today. The company has established itself as a leader in the infrastructure powering the next generation of AI, and its growth trajectory speaks for itself. I'm excited to join the leadership team at such an important moment, help scale the business globally, support our customers and partners and build the legal organisation that will enable DDN's continued success for years to come."
Recent in-house legal moves in AI
Other AI and data companies have also reshuffled their legal leadership. Last month, Alteryx hired Steve Holsten as CLO from venture fund ElevenX Capital, replacing Christopher Lal who left in May to join Braze. These moves reflect the growing demand for AI for Legal expertise among in-house counsel at technology companies. In March, Gong hired former Lacework legal head Joe FitzGerald as CLO, replacing John Slavitt who left in February before joining Abnormal AI as CLO in April.
Why this matters for legal professionals
AI companies are increasingly hiring senior legal leaders with deep technology sector experience. The concentration of CLO appointments at firms like DDN, Alteryx, and Gong signals that legal expertise in AI infrastructure, data governance, and global scaling is moving from a supporting function to a strategic asset. For in-house lawyers, building domain knowledge in AI-not just general corporate law-is becoming a direct path to the top legal role at high-growth tech companies.
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