With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Establishing Ethical AI Data Protection Measures

Alesya Nasimova is the Director, Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy at Brex and previously was the Senior Director & Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy at Fundbox where she led product counseling, data privacy & protection, and IP. Prior to Fundbox, she was Senior Product & Regulatory Counsel, Global DPO at Bolt where she has built and led the Compliance and Privacy Programs for scalability, sustainability, and international expansion, as well as spearheading the IP incentive program to drive product innovation.
Alesya has served as in house counsel within the fintech industry for over 7 years holding positions such as Deputy General Counsel and Head of Legal and Compliance, having started her career working in the Commercial Real Estate and Investment Funding sector as well as devoting her time to pro bono work representing defendants in Consumer Debt Litigation. Alesya is an Advisory Board Member of the IAPP Privacy Education Board, and active member in the tech community advocating for innovation, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Suzanna O’Donohue is an experienced Sales Leader with demonstrated success in leading high-performing teams. With more than 20 years of sales and management experience, she possesses a deep knowledge of the legal and technology industry. She is currently the VP of Sales for the Corporate Legal segment at LexisNexis managing a team of 100 people who sell into in-house counsel departments within corporations and heads up State Net, a Lexis solution that tracks legislative and regulatory changes. She received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Bridgeport and a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Pace University. She is a past member of the board for the Design Thinking Certificate Program at Pace University, Lubin School of Business, and a recent member of the ABA International Section of Law Planning committee for the 2024 annual meeting.

Catherine is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of TRC Companies, Inc. Between 2003 and 2012 at TRC, she provided legal support to TRC’s environmental and infrastructure projects, including contract drafting and review for a wide range of environmental and engineering projects, both public and private. She also developed a contracts management program and oversaw the company’s registration and professional licensing matters across the country. Catherine left the company in 2012 to become the first general counsel of Weidlinger Associates, Inc., a leading structural engineering firm headquartered in Manhattan. In that role, she built the firm’s legal function and was legal advisor to the firm’s board. She led the successful sale of Weidlinger to Thornton Tomasetti in 2015. She returned to TRC in 2016 and assumed responsibility for the company’s corporate legal matters, providing legal support to the company’s oil & gas operations, and playing a key role on the company’s enterprise risk team overseeing many legal department operations.

Catherine was Chair of the Corporate Counsel Division of the ABA Forum on Construction Law from May 2018 to May 2020. She has been a member of the Legal Counsel Forum, American Council of Engineering Companies since 2012.

Catherine is admitted to the bar in New York and Connecticut and is also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar.

She received her JD and MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Andowah Newton is Vice President, Legal Affairs and Litigation Counsel at LVMH Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy, Inc., where she manages litigation and legal disputes for approximately 25 luxury brands including Benefit Cosmetics, Bulgari, C?line, Fendi, Dior, Givenchy, Guerlain, Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Thomas Pink. Ms. Newton directs legal strategy and advises senior executives and general counsel in the United States, Europe, and Asia on legal disputes involving consumer class actions, advertising and marketing, product and environmental claims, breach of contract, personal injury, intellectual property, regulatory and internal investigations, indemnification, and debt recovery.

Before joining LVMH, Ms. Newton spent eight and a half years litigating complex commercial cases, including successfully arguing motions and appeals, while practicing at top law firms in New York City. She began her legal career as a judicial clerk for the First Vice President Judge of the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands. Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Newton earned her CPA and worked for four years as an auditor and internal controls analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Est?e Lauder Companies.

Ms. Newton earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and dual law degrees in U.S. and French law from Cornell Law School and The Sorbonne. Ms. Newton is a member of NY Choral and served on its Board of Trustees. She currently serves as a mentor and coach for high school and law school students in the Legal Outreach and Inroads programs.