(Bloomberg) -- Adobe Inc.’s top lawyer Dana Rao, who was central to establishing its artificial intelligence strategy and led it through a failed antitrust battle, is leaving the company.
“Dana has been a valuable member of our leadership team, and we appreciate his contributions and counsel,” said an Adobe spokesperson on Thursday following a Bloomberg News inquiry. While the company conducts an “extensive search” for a permanent successor, Chief People Officer Gloria Chen will helm Adobe’s legal organization, the spokesperson added.
Rao was a central figure in establishing Adobe’s approach to generative AI. The company has dubbed its products “commercially safe” since its models are built largely on its own library of imagery and attempt to filter out copyrighted material and offensive visuals.
Also holding the title “chief trust officer,” Rao was a frequent advocate for Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative, which aims to establish standards around the use of AI-generated content.
He also led Adobe’s ill-fated attempt to buy design software startup Figma Inc. for $20 billion, which fell apart last year amid regulatory pressure in Europe and the US.
Adobe is also facing a lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission, which in June alleged the software company violated consumer protection laws by making it too difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.
Rao joined Adobe in 2012, and before that served as associate general counsel at Microsoft Corp. and as an attorney focused on intellectual property and licensing, according to his LinkedIn page.
“I am very proud of Adobe and what we have accomplished,” Rao said Thursday in a LinkedIn post. He wrote that he is stepping down to spend more time with his family, pursue hobbies, and once recharged is “looking forward to doing whatever is next for me.”
(Updates with comments from Rao in the final paragraph.)
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