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Laura Pleskatcheva, Data Privacy and AI Governance Operations
In this episode of The Data Diva Talks Privacy, Debbie Reynolds, The Data Diva speaks with Laura Pleskatcheva, a Data Privacy and AI Governance Operations professional, about the critical role privacy operations plays in helping organizations translate regulatory requirements into practical business processes. Laura shares her career journey from corporate finance into privacy, explaining how her interests in business operations, technology, compliance, and cross-functional collaboration led her to a career in privacy and AI governance.
The conversation explores the common misconception that privacy is solely a legal or compliance function. Laura explains that while legal teams focus on understanding requirements and obligations, privacy operations is responsible for implementing those requirements in a way that works across the organization. Debbie and Laura discuss the distinction between the "what" and the "how," highlighting how privacy operations serves as the bridge between policy and execution.
The episode examines the practical work involved in operationalizing privacy programs, including project management, relationship building, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional collaboration. Laura explains that privacy professionals frequently work across legal, marketing, HR, technology, security, and business teams to ensure that privacy requirements are effectively implemented. The discussion highlights why communication, influence, and collaboration are often just as important as technical or legal knowledge.
Debbie and Laura also explore the importance of organizational culture and leadership support in building successful privacy programs. Laura emphasizes that privacy is a team sport and that executive engagement is often the key factor that determines whether privacy initiatives succeed. When leadership understands privacy risks and values trust and integrity, organizations are better positioned to integrate privacy into everyday business practices.
The conversation also addresses the rapid pace of technological change and the growing attention organizations are placing on artificial intelligence. Laura explains that while AI has become a major focus for businesses, privacy requirements and obligations have not disappeared. Organizations must continue managing privacy compliance while simultaneously developing governance frameworks for AI technologies. The discussion highlights the need for organizations to understand how personal data is used within AI systems and to educate both employees and consumers about the risks and benefits associated with emerging technologies.
The episode concludes with a discussion of third-party risk management and vendor accountability. Debbie and Laura examine the challenges organizations face when working with vendors that process personal data and discuss the importance of contracts, audits, due diligence, trust, and ongoing oversight. As organizations become increasingly interconnected through technology platforms and outsourced services, strong vendor governance practices remain a critical component of privacy and AI governance programs.
This episode is sponsored by JetStream Security. If you govern privacy or legal risk, you know the hardest AI question is who did what, with whose data, and on what authority. JetStream answers it. Every AI action, attributable to an identity. Every output, traceable to a purpose. See how at jetstream.security.
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Debbie Reynolds Consulting, LLC
