Privacy Leadership · AI Governance · Mentoring

Building Privacy Leaders who own their rolenot just execute it.

You already know the law. But your work still feels reactive. I help you turn experience into structure, ownership, and real impact.

Inna Gendelman
Privacy LeadershipAI GovernanceMentoringDPO AcademySpeakingOn-the-Job Training
About

Hello, I'm Inna Gendelman

Group DPO, Mentor, Speaker & much more.

I am a fully qualified lawyer working full-time as Group Data Protection Officer for a German DAX tech company, with 10 years of experience in privacy and business. In addition, I am a freelance mentor, motivating and inspiring privacy professionals as well as others who are walking — or have walked — a similar path to mine. I have created an online course for privacy leaders that makes privacy work not only easier, but also more creative.

Based in Berlin, working internationally. Fluent in German, Russian and English.

You are experienced.

You understand GDPR.

You handle complex questions every day.

And still, your work is driven by:

  • incoming requests
  • constant prioritization by others
  • unclear boundaries
  • little time for what actually matters

At some point, this stops being a knowledge problem. It becomes a structural one.

The difference between a reactive role and a leadership role is not more expertise — it is how you design the system around you.

What I offer

Three ways to work with me

Online Course

Privacy Leader Academy

Build a living Academy for Data Protection Coordinators and make privacy everyone's business inside your company. For privacy professionals who want to become visible corporate intrapreneurs.

Discover the courses
Personal Mentoring

Personal Development

You don't just want to know how to do it — you want the courage to actually do it. Mentoring that pushes you to fully realize yourself and create real results through small steps: with clarity, depth and confidence.

Explore mentoring
On-the-Job-Training

2–3 Month Professional Training

A structured 2 to 3 month on-the-job training program for privacy professionals stepping into leadership. Hands-on guidance, frameworks and accountability inside your real role.

See the program
Mentoring

Two paths. One direction: ownership. certainty. visibility. ease.

Personal Development

Lead with clarity, confidence and depth

Personal and professional development don't come from expertise alone — they grow from clarity, self-reflection and the ability to make and act on your own decisions. This mentoring is for people in a phase of evolution — both professionally and personally: positioning, responsibility, possible entrepreneurial perspectives and consciously shaping your own life and work model. We reflect on these themes in a structured way, create orientation and develop individual solutions. Content is agreed based on your needs. Usually delivered online, individual scheduling, 60–90 minutes per session.

  • Professional development & positioning
  • Side-business & entrepreneurial thinking
  • Decision-making & strategic direction
  • Personal development & reflection
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On-the-Job Training · 2–3 months

Structured professional mentoring inside your role

A 2–3 month modular on-the-job program for Data Protection Leaders who want to step out of the operational grind and into a strategic, visible leadership role. Together we build your DPMS architecture, your personal positioning, your coordinator network and the delegation muscle you need to lead — with templates, working sessions and decks you can reuse internally. It is a clear win for your employer: a more autonomous, more strategic privacy function, less risk and a stronger internal voice. In most cases the program is fully funded by the employer as professional development.

  • Audit of current setup
  • DPMS & Academy design
  • Executive communication
  • Weekly 1:1 working sessions
View program
Inna Gendelman on a panel discussion
Speaking

Speaking

I speak at conferences and professional events on building and leading data protection systems and becoming a Privacy Leader. I also support professionals stepping into speaking themselves — identifying the right platforms, positioning their topic, and shaping a contribution that reflects both their expertise and their voice.

Next event: TÜV Rheinland Datenschutzkonferenz (hybrid) — 5 November 2026, Cologne.

Writing & LinkedIn

Articles, essays and posts

I write regularly about privacy leadership, AI governance and the inner work of becoming a Privacy Leader. Read my essays and follow the conversation on LinkedIn.

Follow on LinkedIn
@innagendelman
What clients say

Voices from the field

Inna Gendelman was much more than a professional mentor to me — she was my role model in a formative phase of my early career as a data protection officer. Together we handled demanding mandates, and in every collaboration I experienced her exceptional clarity, structure and professional excellence. Her feedback was always honest, constructive and encouraging — a mix that is rare and was very valuable for my personal and professional development. On a personal level too, Inna is a role model for me: with a special presence radiating calm, composure and depth. Our conversations often went beyond the professional context, into questions of inner posture, spirituality and how to live. It is precisely this combination of professional strength and personal integrity that has made her a unique companion on my path.
Lea Imschweiler
AI & Privacy Lawyer, Berlin
The DPO webinar series by Inna was, from my perspective, an outstanding experience for privacy professionals. It combined deep professional expertise with practical insights from real corporate practice that directly reflect the daily challenges of privacy work. I particularly appreciated the strong focus on building a DPC community that enables experienced privacy experts to exchange ideas, benchmark approaches and independently and confidently handle complex issues after establishing a solid privacy foundation. The training was practice-oriented, empowering and offered immediate added value — both for individual work and for advancing the privacy maturity within organisations.
Patrick
Data Privacy Manager, Automotive OEM
Inna's webinar immediately convinced me with her clear and structured way of making complex topics tangible. At the same time, she brings a warm, trusting presence that opens up space for reflection. I find it particularly valuable that she conveys privacy not only in a technically sound way, but also incorporates the human side — that makes her work unique and inspiring.
Bernadette Z.
Data Protection Officer of a Group Company
I had the great fortune of having Inna not only as my manager, but also as a mentor by my side. She combines deep expertise in privacy, compliance and corporate structures with a real sense for personal development. She sees not only the professional path, but also recognises where individual potential lies — and how to develop it concretely. Her impulses have opened up entirely new perspectives for me, both professionally and personally. Anyone looking for well-founded, honest and at the same time human guidance in a business context is in exactly the right place with her. Absolute recommendation.
Denise Tanrikul
Investment Consultant, Dubai
I attended a 3-part webinar series by Inna and was absolutely thrilled — both in terms of content and the engaging way she presents. You can immediately feel how much heart and soul she puts into it. I'm already looking forward to future webinars and will follow Inna's path with great interest.
Janine Noemi Z.
Data Protection Officer, Zurich
I became aware of Inna through LinkedIn and appreciate her professional approach to privacy coordinators, which I see as a key building block of data protection management, particularly in larger organisations. I was especially convinced by her clearly structured approach in the webinar series. Through my participation I was able to see that Inna is a competent service provider I can recommend to my clients with a clear conscience. Her combination of professional expertise and a systematic approach makes her work especially valuable.
Michael Schöpf
Entrepreneur, schoepf.cosulting, Hannover
Inna manages to convey the topics in a very structured and comprehensible way. As an in-house DPO, I found the many impulses and perspectives very useful. I took away concrete suggestions and approaches for implementation from the webinar. Every DPO should attend at least once.
Christoph S.
Data Protection Officer, Scalable Capital, Berlin
Inna manages, in an impressive way, to convey the organisation, structure and build-up of a privacy management system that actively involves everyone. She not only shares valuable impulses and content, but also provides practical strategies that offer real orientation in the everyday work of data protection responsibles.
Kristina Bunkowski
Business Operations & Compliance Manager, Munich
Contact

Let's talk

Book a free 20-minute call. No commitment. Just a conversation.

Jump on a call

Or simply email me at call@gendelman.de