Founder-led advisory for the leaders adopting AI — and the founders building it. We help you ship AI initiatives operationally, capture real efficiency, and embed the governance and privacy that protect both the business and its clients.
Whether you're rolling AI out across the business or building products on top of it, the hard questions are the same: which use cases first, which guardrails, which documentation, which oversight. We help you move quickly without flying blind — prioritizing the highest-value initiatives, evaluating tools and models, and embedding the governance and privacy that protect both you and your clients. Efficiency you can measure. Trust you can defend.
Privacy, data protection, and AI governance are no longer separate conversations. We build them as one program — with shared inventories, shared reviews, and shared ownership across legal, security, and product.
A pragmatic operating model for AI — whether you're adopting it across the business or building products on top of it. We help you prioritize, evaluate, and ship with governance and privacy built in from day one.
From first hire to global function — a privacy practice that earns customer trust and scales with the business.
The day-to-day machinery of a credible program: policies, contracts, vendor reviews, and incident readiness.
Programs are only half of trust — the other half is the people making decisions at the top. We work directly with founders and boards, bringing operating experience (not just a framework) to the moments that shape a company.
1:1 coaching for founders building companies where trust is a feature, not an afterthought. AI, data, privacy, fintech, health — anywhere the hard questions show up early. Operator-to-operator conversations from someone who's been in the seat.
Independent board and advisory roles for companies where AI governance, privacy, or data protection sit on the agenda — and where seasoned operator judgment helps leadership teams build durable, trustworthy businesses.
We meet the team where they are — and stay until the program runs without us.
Map current state across legal, security, and product. Identify the gaps that actually matter.
A right-sized program with clear ownership, timelines, and the metrics to know it's working.
Policies, tooling, training, and reviews — implemented with your team, not handed off in a binder.
Hand-off with confidence. We stay on as advisors as the business and the rules evolve.
Leila Golchehreh is a 3x entrepreneur, lawyer, and former Data Protection Officer with more than fifteen years building global privacy, data protection, AI governance, and cybersecurity programs. She was GM Cruise's first DPO, advised SaaS companies including Workday and Adaptive Insights, and practiced at major law firms including A&O Shearman — counseling clients across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and MENA. She has also advised international organizations including the OECD and the International Court of Arbitration, and studied law at the Sorbonne.
Today, through Silicon Valley Trust, Leila works directly with founders, executives, and boards on the operational and governance decisions that come with adopting and building AI — coaching, board service, and program design for companies where trust is a competitive advantage.
She is also a sought-after speaker on AI governance and the operationalization of privacy programs, with sessions at conferences from San Francisco to Paris and Brussels.
A frequent voice on AI governance, privacy, and the operational realities of building trustworthy companies — at conferences from San Francisco to Paris to Brussels.
With privacy and security leaders from Anthropic, Box, and Uber. A practitioner-focused session on moving AI governance from theory to deployed reality inside established organizations — covering AI safety in practice, architectural hurdles, change management, and data integrity at scale.
Annual Privacy & Technology Law Conference. On the legal profession's responsibility around AI governance and ethics, the impact of AI on critical thinking, and why using AI to govern AI is the only practical path forward at the scale this moment requires.
On the necessary shift in how technology professionals approach AI governance — that trust is not a byproduct of innovation but its precondition, and the responsibility of the industry to govern what it builds, not from the sidelines but from inside the work.
Past venues span San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, and Brussels. Additional speaking history and references available on request.
Photos and videos from recent speaking engagements and panels. Click any image to enlarge.
Additional speaking videos, photos, and references available on request.
Whether you're standing up an AI governance practice, scaling a privacy program, looking for a founder coach, or considering an independent board member — we'd be glad to talk.