Joanne Charles is an Associate General Counsel / Senior Director AI Governance at Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on HIV/AIDS, cancer and cardiovascular disease treatment. She focuses on legal and regulatory issues related to artificial intelligence in healthcare, as well as data privacy and information security. In this role, she develops polices, governance frameworks and processes to comply with global AI as well as U.S. laws addressing consumer health data protection, digital and emerging technologies.

Prior to joining Gilead, she was the Senior Corporate Counsel in Microsoft’s Corporate and External Legal Affairs division. Joanne advised business clients on questions related to digital health, artificial intelligence, privacy and global data protection regulation. She focused her practice on global healthcare and compliance risk management supporting internal stakeholders, product and business teams. As part of her practice, she supported clients on their efforts to launch new products and services involving emerging technologies.

Joanne attended Syracuse University in New York where she earned her bachelor's degrees in journalism and psychology, and she received her Juris Doctorate from the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She is an active public speaker and guest lecturer discussing regulation and innovation in the health sector as well as privacy enhancing technology and data use regulation.