Consultant · Corporate Trainer · Expert Witness
Samuel Zaruba Smith
Faculty and Associate Director, Center for Business Data Analytics, University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics.
I help enterprises and government deploy, govern, and defend AI in regulated environments.
Two decades of hands-on work in AI, cybersecurity, and compliance, from inside the organizations that had to get it right.
How I help
Four ways to work with me
AI governance, security, and compliance
- Advise enterprises and government on deploying AI in regulated environments.
- Map systems to NIST RMF, FedRAMP, CMMC, and NERC CIP.
- Stand up AI governance, audit, and red-teaming programs.
Executive and corporate training
- Custom programs for executives, audit teams, and technical staff.
- Delivered across financial services, technology, and public utilities.
- Core topics: AI governance, fraud analytics, and blockchain audit.
Expert testimony and advisory
- Signed expert opinion to NIST on the AI Risk Management Framework.
- Expert work on AI, ML, cybersecurity, and data security with Bank of America.
- Independent analysis for legal, regulatory, and standards matters.
Keynotes and talks
- Keynotes and invited talks on AI, governance, and cybersecurity.
- Plain-English sessions for boards, conferences, and general audiences.
- Booked directly through the contact below.
Selected engagements
Where I have done the work
Consulting and applied engagements across financial services, technology, telecom, and public utilities.
AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and data security. Basis for the NIST AI RMF expert opinion.
Enterprise AI and ML across cloud, telecom, energy, and financial services.
Applied data science and machine learning delivery on cloud infrastructure.
Data science and machine learning for large-scale telecom operations.
Applied AI and data science engagement.
Advisory analytics and audit-focused data science.
Utility data, ML, and governance in a NERC CIP regulated environment.
Grid-adjacent data and governance work for a major public utility.
Funded doctoral research in adversarial AI and large language model security.
Engagements reflect direct roles and consulting work from 2016 onward. Logos load from a public logo service and denote past work, not endorsement.
Executive and corporate training
Training that holds up in practice
Built for the room, whether that is a board, an audit team, or technical staff. Delivered on-site or remote.
Programs
- AI Governance for Audit and Assurance. Half-day executive session.
- Fraud Analytics with Machine Learning. Two-day bootcamp or cohort.
- Blockchain Audit Essentials. Workshop or four-part series.
- Custom programs, scoped to your sector and regulatory environment.
Delivered for
- Financial services and banking teams.
- Global technology and cloud organizations.
- Public utilities and energy operators.
- University and professional-association audiences.
Expert testimony and advisory
Independent, credentialed analysis
Track record
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework. Signed written expert opinion.
- Bank of America. Expert work across AI, ML, cybersecurity, and data security.
- Engaged through established expert-witness channels.
Areas of testimony
- Adversarial machine learning and LLM security.
- AI governance and responsible deployment.
- Cybersecurity, IT audit, and data security.
- Federal and energy-sector compliance.
Speaking and talks
Keynotes and invited talks
Where the Next Decade of AI Will Actually Get Built
Why AI policy and infrastructure will not be written in San Francisco alone.
The Auditor's Problem with Generative AI
How generative AI breaks traditional IT audit, and the controls that fix it.
From Compliance to Capability
Treating cybersecurity and governance as advantage, not a checkbox.
Selected venues
- The Innovate Summit, Louisville (2026)
- UK Computational Summit (2024)
- ISACA Podcast (2023)
- UW Foster, Seattle Conference on AI (2023)
- Hyperledger Conference (2022)
- O'Reilly Strata Conference (2017)
Free lectures
The Prof Z channel
Full teaching sessions on generative AI for business, finance, and audit professionals. No coding background required.
Research and credentials
The foundation behind the work
Research focus
- Adversarial ML and LLM red-teaming, including attack transferability.
- AI governance for critical infrastructure.
- Energy sector cybersecurity and NERC CIP.
Education
PhD, Public Policy and Economics
NSF-funded research in adversarial AI and large language model security.
MBA, Accounting Information Systems
Graduate training in accounting, information systems, and analytics.
Contact
Start a conversation
For consulting, training, expert testimony, or speaking, email me directly. I respond to qualified inquiries within five business days.