Farah Zaman helps law firms and growing companies access senior-level privacy and AI governance leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
After three years as a privacy attorney for the NYC Department of Social Services, Farah joined a lean team of privacy experts at Nielsen and quickly honed in on her passion for helping organizations scale, helping to overhaul the team's intake system, and working on cross-functional teams to improve incident management, vendor management, integrations, and regulatory compliance projects. She took that experience and went on to build and led privacy programs for some of the biggest names in media, consumer goods, and AI:
General Counsel, ElevenLabs, building the legal, privacy, and safety function from the ground up for one of the world's fastest-growing AI companies
First Chief Privacy Officer, Meredith Corporation, building a privacy office supporting People, Entertainment Weekly, AllRecipes, and 17 broadcast stations reaching over 100 million people
Senior Global Data Privacy Counsel, Colgate-Palmolive
Farah is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP), and Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), with education from Brooklyn Law School and a B.S. in Decision Science and International Relations from Carnegie Mellon University.
Farah brings hands-on leadership in privacy and AI governance across media, healthcare, consumer goods, adtech, and AI. Her experience spans government, publicly traded companies, trade associations, and startups, giving her a broad perspective on building strategies that work across different business environments. She knows how to put pen to paper in a way that translates across functions, eliminates silos and redundancies, and brings connected cross-functional teams to life.
Negotiated strategic first-party data deals valued at $500K+
Reduced friction in subject access requests by 90%
Supported a CPG company's first direct-to-consumer product lines, including an IoT toothbrush and associated mobile application with gamification for children
Developed privacy-centric products including B2B, B2C, and two-sided marketplaces across industries, including managing biometric risks
Created industry-leading guidance to avoid Dark Patterns
Led CCPA compliance across highly matrixed and diverse portfolio companies
Advised corporate leadership and boards directly on privacy risk, strategy, and business impact
Built privacy programs from the ground up and matured them across multiple industries.
Managed cross-functional projects ranging from regulatory compliance to supporting new verticals and improving efficiencies of vendor management
Applied a principles-based approach that connects privacy and AI governance to company strategy while building a strong culture of compliance
Helped organizations navigate transformation, growth, leadership changes, and evolving regulatory requirements
A law firm's client needs a privacy or AI governance specialist to support strategy development or implementation.
A general counsel has inherited responsibility for privacy or AI governance and needs experienced leadership to build or strengthen the function.
A startup or growing company needs CPO-level leadership but isn't ready for a full-time hire.
An AI company is navigating the intersection of data, privacy, business strategy, and emerging regulation.
A privacy leader is stepping into a new role, industry, or growth stage and needs support to right-size and mature the program.
An organization needs interim leadership during a leave, executive transition, or other temporary gap.
A company is reorganizing legal, privacy, or governance functions, or simply wants ongoing strategic support.
IAPP, "Profiles in Privacy"
Carnegie Mellon University, Outstanding Recent Alumni Award
Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US)
Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP)
Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP)
IAPP
Education Advisory Board: 2024–2025
Diversity in Privacy Advisory Board: 2021–2024
Women Leading Privacy Advisory Board: 2021–2022
NYC KnowledgeNet Co-Chair: 2020–2021
Advisory Board — The Future of Privacy Forum: 2019–Present
Advisory Board — Dietrich College — Carnegie Mellon University: 2017–Present
Advisory Board — The Resolution Project: 2015–Present
Through CPO in Residence™, Farah gives law firms and legal teams direct access to an experienced privacy leader who has built and run privacy programs, not simply advised on them.
Learn more about Chief Privacy Officer in Residence™ →