About
Built by someone
who ran the business.
Most privacy advisors come from law. I come from operations — and that changes everything about how I work with clients.
Sam Cherkaoui
Founder · North Privacy Advisors
linkedin.com/in/dataprivacyadvisorIAPP Member
International Association of Privacy Professionals
CIPP/US
Certified Information Privacy Professional
The Background
An Operator Who
Learned the Hard Way.
I'm an operator who learned — the hard way — that privacy compliance is a business problem, not a legal one. I've spent my career running businesses. Not advising them from the outside — running them. Managing P&Ls, building teams, navigating regulations, watching legal and compliance costs pile up on spreadsheets that also had payroll and rent on them.
I know what it costs to run a company. I know how decisions actually get made under pressure. That background is exactly why I started North Privacy Advisors.
The privacy law landscape has become genuinely complex for small and mid-size businesses — 20 active state laws, federal proposals moving through Congress, real enforcement with real penalties. Most business owners know something needs to happen. Very few know where to start or how to do it without a six-figure legal bill.
I work fractionally — embedded with your team, not billing by the hour. You get experienced privacy leadership at a fraction of the cost of hiring, and without the translation problem you get when you hire a law firm that's never had to worry about your margins.
The Operator Background
I've Sat in
Your Seat.
Multi-Million Dollar Operations
Managed P&Ls inside publicly traded companies where compliance was a board-level conversation — not a checkbox. I understand what it means to get privacy wrong at scale.
Built and Exited a Company
Started from zero, grew it, and sold it. That experience gives me a clear-eyed view of where business owners actually are when the compliance conversation comes up — and what they can realistically take on.
Every Decision Runs Through the Bottom Line
I don't recommend compliance spending that doesn't make business sense. Every recommendation I make is calibrated against your risk exposure, your resources, and your growth stage.
Operations-First, Not Legal-First
Privacy programs fail when they're designed by lawyers for lawyers. I build programs your team can actually run — practical, documented, and sustainable without outside help.
Why This Practice Exists
The Gap I'm
Solving.
Small business owners understand their business. They don't understand why a law written in Sacramento affects their operation in Houston. That gap is the problem I'm solving.
The US privacy law landscape is genuinely fragmented — 20 active state laws, all with different thresholds, different rights frameworks, different enforcement mechanisms. A small e-commerce company in Texas that serves customers in California, Virginia, and Colorado may be subject to three or four different privacy regimes without knowing it.
I've been that business owner. Trying to run a company, manage people, stay competitive, and somehow also figure out whether the CPRA applies to you, what a DPA is, whether your analytics tool is creating liability, and what happens if someone requests deletion of their data.
The answer most businesses get is either "you need a lawyer" — expensive — or "here's a template" — inadequate. Privacy compliance isn't about becoming perfect. It's about becoming defensible — and doing it in a way that doesn't derail your business in the process.
The fractional model exists because most growing businesses don't need a full-time privacy officer. They need someone who can get them to a defensible position quickly, build processes that hold up over time, and stay available as their business and the law both change. That's what North Privacy Advisors does.
How I Work
What You Can
Always Expect.
Clarity over complexity
Privacy law is inherently complex. My job is to make it navigable. I translate dense regulations into plain language and practical steps you can actually take without a law degree.
Earned authority
I don't claim expertise — I demonstrate it. Every recommendation I make is grounded in real knowledge of the law, your specific situation, and what is actually feasible inside a real business.
Right-sized, not one-size
A startup and a mid-market company face different risks. I build programs that fit your actual situation — not frameworks designed for organizations ten times your size.
No surprises
You know what you are getting before you engage. Every proposal includes exact scope, timeline, and deliverables. No open-ended billing, no scope creep, no ambiguity.
You never navigate alone
I stay with you. As your business grows and laws change, your program evolves with it. This is an ongoing relationship, not a one-time deliverable.
Ready to Work
Together?
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call. No pitch, no pressure — just clarity.
Book a Free Consultation