ABOUT
OUR services
Compliance as Competitive Advantage
Compliance is often seen as a necessary burden, a cost center that slows innovation. But the most successful organizations understand that strong compliance programs create competitive advantage: they unlock enterprise sales, accelerate fundraising, enable international expansion, and build customer trust.
Whether you're navigating DORA deadlines, pursuing ISO 27001 certification, building AI governance frameworks ahead of EU AI Act enforcement, or managing cross-border data privacy requirements, the challenge is the same: you need senior compliance expertise, but not necessarily a full-time executive.
That's where fractional compliance leadership makes sense. You get C-suite level guidance exactly when you need it, from initial gap assessments through certification audits, from regulatory inquiries to board presentations—without the overhead of a permanent hire.
At Spark AI Advisory, I help organizations across financial services, technology, and regulated industries build compliance programs that satisfy regulators while supporting business growth. With 15+ years of experience spanning RBC Capital Markets, pharmaceutical operations, and enterprise SaaS, I bring multi-sector expertise and rare certifications (ISO 27001/42001 Lead Auditor, EU AI Act Professional) to organizations at critical growth stages.
The approach is straightforward: Start with where you are, build what you need, and scale as requirements evolve. Whether that's a focused project, on-demand advisory, or ongoing fractional leadership, compliance becomes an enabler, not a constraint.
a few words about vanessa
YOUR FRACTIONAL CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
Vanessa is the founder of Spark AI Advisory, a fractional compliance consultancy helping organizations navigate complex regulatory requirements across information security, data privacy, AI governance, and financial compliance.
Vanessa began her career in institutional finance, spending over a decade as a biotech equity broker for a top North American bank (RBC Capital Markets), where she navigated complex regulatory frameworks including FINRA, IIROC, and MiFID II compliance. She later moved into biotech consulting with firms like STEM/Inizio Advisory, helping life science companies align strategy and execution while managing GRC requirements across highly regulated markets.
In 2022, Vanessa co-founded her first company with her son, Sébastien, focusing on AI-powered client acquisition systems. This venture into AI technology revealed a critical market gap: organizations needed help translating their existing compliance frameworks to AI-specific regulations. Today, Vanessa uniquely combines her 15+ years of GRC expertise in financial services and pharmaceutical compliance with specialized knowledge in information security and AI governance, spanning ISO 27001/42001 implementation, SOC 2 readiness, DORA and NIS2 compliance, EU AI Act preparation, and GDPR/AML-KYC programs.
As founder of Spark AI Advisory, Vanessa provides fractional Chief Compliance Officer services across multiple frameworks: from ISO 27001/42001 certification preparation and SOC 2 readiness, to DORA/NIS2 compliance for financial services and essential entities, to AI governance frameworks aligned with ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act. She is a Certified ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 Lead Auditor, one of the few globally with dual certification—and holds EU AI Act Professional certification with specialized training in AI cybersecurity through the FAICP (Framework for AI Cybersecurity Practices) and an AI for Business Specialization from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.
Vanessa holds a Master's in Italian and Russian Linguistics (University of Geneva) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business & Organisational Psychology (University of Liverpool). She is an ICF-certified Executive Mentor-Coach with additional training in Emotional Intelligence and Customer Neuroscience. With 20+ years in regulated industries, she brings both strategic precision and human-centered insight to complex compliance challenges, whether building information security programs, navigating financial regulations, or establishing AI governance frameworks.
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 - Lead Auditor
- ISO/IEC 42001:2023 - Lead Auditor
- EU AI Act Certified Professional
- ISACA Certification: Auditing Generative AI
- CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor (Candidate, ISACA 2026)
- AI for Business Professional Certification (Wharton University)
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Organizational & Business Psychology (University of Liverpool)
- MA Linguistics (Italian & Russian), (Universities of Geneva and Moscow)
a few words about Sebastien
Chief Marketing Officer & Co-Founder
Sébastien is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Spark AI Advisory, where he leads brand strategy, content development, and market positioning for the firm's fractional compliance services.
With expertise in AI-powered business systems and a Professional Certification in AI for Business from Wharton University of Pennsylvania, Sébastien brings technical understanding to the challenge of communicating complex compliance requirements. He translates regulatory concepts into accessible content, from client-facing materials to educational programs like the Spark AI Academy, making governance frameworks understandable for business audiences.
Before co-founding Spark AI Advisory with his mother, Vanessa, in 2022, Sébastien architected AI-driven workflow automation systems for client acquisition and operations, experience that informs the firm's approach to scalable, technology-enabled compliance solutions.
A multidisciplinary artist with a background in visual storytelling, music composition, and creative expression, Sébastien brings a human-centered design perspective to technical communication, balancing precision with clarity, and complexity with accessibility.
