Australian Financial Review
Details
- Date Published
- 18 June 2026
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 18 June 2026, 08:00 pm
Authors (1)
Description
Pooyan Asgari led Domain’s tech-transformation as chief data officer. Now, he’s hoping to help transform the legal sector – and all without a law degree.
Summary
This article details the appointment of Pooyan Asgari as the first Chief AI Officer at MinterEllison, one of Australia's leading legal firms. The move signifies an industry-wide trend toward high-level internal AI governance and technical transformation within the professional services sector. While the focus is primarily on operational efficiency and sector-specific disruption rather than catastrophic safety risks or frontier model development, the appointment reflects the growing institutional need for oversight as AI is integrated into critical legal infrastructures. This development is significant for the Australian AI policy landscape as it highlights how the nation's major commercial entities are structuring their internal AI leadership and compliance frameworks.