Husch Blackwell Appoints Three Leadership Roles to Transformation Office

Husch Blackwell announced three leadership appointments to its new Transformation Office, which opened in March. Photo credit: Shutterstock (Song_about_summer).

Posted May 21, 2025

Husch Blackwell announced three leadership appointments within its Transformation Office, a division of the firm that was established earlier this year.

The new appointments include Sverre Roang, head of practice innovation; Thom Hutchison, director of data science & artificial intelligence; and Jani Smith, director of transformation.

“Sverre, Thom, and Jani bring the ideal mix of strategic thinking, operational depth, and hands-on expertise this office needs to deliver on its mandate. Together, they will help us move faster, work smarter, and create real and lasting value for our clients and our people,” Penn said in a release.

The Transformation Office officially launched in March. It was established to focus on technology adoption across the company and is led by Joanna Penn, chief transformation officer.

As head of practice innovation, Roang will oversee initiatives to enhance and evolve the quality, delivery, and impact of the firm’s legal services. He and his teams will work to bring client success through management, operational efficiency, legal product development, and AI-enabled workflows. Roang most recently led Husch Blackwell’s Financial Services & Capital Markets business unit. Roang first joined the firm in 2022 as a managing director.

Hutchison will lead the Transformation Office’s Data Science and AI vertical. He brings with him two decades of experience in data and AI, and has led the creation of industry-leading tools for the firm and Husch Blackwell’s comprehensive AI governance program. Hutchison first joined Husch Blackwell in 2020.

As Director of Transformation, Smith will oversee the strategic delivery vertical and is responsible for building the Transformation Office from the ground up. Smith first joined Husch Blackwell in April. Before that, Smith spent more than eight years in consulting, having served as a director at Gartner for nearly 4 years. She also served as a Senior Consultant at Accenture in San Diego and in a similar role at Deloitte, according to her LinkedIn profile.