Noah M. Kenney – Founder & Principal Consultant, Digital 520

Digital 520 Leadership

Noah M. Kenney

Founder & Principal Consultant

Principal consultant in AI and data with experience leading technical strategy and AI implementations across 60+ organizations. Founder of Digital 520, President of the Disruptive AI Lab, and President of the Ethical Tech Forum — a global think tank advancing responsible AI and privacy governance.

"Building technology systems that are not only powerful and scalable, but also secure, compliant, and aligned with human values."
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60+ Organizations
Advised
9+ Years Leading
Digital 520
40+ AI Initiatives
Led
3M+ End Users on
Platforms Built
50+ Industry
Certifications
5K+ Annual Event
Reach

Noah's Bio

Building the Infrastructure of Responsible Technology

Noah Kenney is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Digital 520, a global consultancy specializing in digital transformation, marketing, data privacy, AI governance, automation, cybersecurity, finance, and compliance. Digital 520 partners with regulated enterprises, high-growth companies, and mission-driven organizations to increase operational efficiency and drive organizational growth.

In his role as Founder and Principal Consultant, Noah serves as fractional CTO and technology advisor to multiple organizations, has consulted on over 40 AI initiatives, and speaks globally on AI, governance, privacy, and secure systems design. In addition to leading Digital 520, he serves as President and Chief Scientist of the Disruptive AI Lab and President of the Ethical Tech Forum — a global think tank advancing responsible AI, privacy, and emerging technology governance.

Noah is recognized for his work in AI-driven medical diagnostics, including improving pneumonia detection using computationally efficient AI systems, for which he received a competitive grant. He also co-developed the country's first AI Privacy Engineering course at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and holds over 50 advanced industry certifications including the CIPM from the IAPP.

Career

Professional Experience

Aug 2017
– Present
Current
Digital 520
Founder & Principal Consultant
  • Scaled from zero to seven-figure annual run rate, leading P&L, client acquisition, and technical delivery
  • Led technical strategy and AI implementation initiatives across 60+ organizations in regulated sectors
  • Hired and led cross-functional team of 12 developers, IT experts, visual designers, and marketers
  • Delivered large-scale digital systems and AI-enabled platforms used by 3M+ end users
  • Advise CEOs, CIOs, and board members on AI strategy, governance, and digital transformation
Apr 2022
– Present
Current
Disruptive AI Lab
President & Chief Scientist
  • Convene and lead industry events on AI governance and safety, reaching 5,000+ people annually
  • Senior consultant or lead AI engineer on over 40 AI projects, developing tools utilized by thousands of users
  • Authoring 500+ page governance framework translating legal requirements into technical standards
  • Advise industry leaders on AI risk mitigation strategies and emerging regulatory standards (EU AI Act, U.S. state-level privacy regimes)
Feb 2024
– Present
Current
Habitat for Humanity – NCG
Director of Technology (fractional, part-time)
  • Managed cleaning of 110,000 data records and migrated to a new CRM platform (ActiveCampaign)
  • Automated processes for donation tracking and financial reporting using Python + AI, saving 15+ hours/week
  • Developed and maintain custom website, third-party integrations, CRM, and general IT infrastructure
  • Coordinate and manage contracts with all third-party vendors of software, servers, and technology
Sep 2024
– Nov 2025
The Hedgestone Group
Chief Technology Officer (fractional contract)
  • Directed technology strategy supporting high-traffic digital platform with 50k+ concurrent users
  • Oversaw codebase modernization (250k+ LOC) to increase maintainability, security, and system reliability
  • Renegotiated enterprise vendor agreements, reducing recurring technology expenditures by 70%
  • Designed AI integration roadmap aligned with growth objectives and risk mitigation priorities
Aug 2023
– Dec 2024
Georgia Institute of Technology
AI Researcher & Head Teaching Assistant
  • Developed iOS application to diagnose pneumonia from a chest X-ray in 1 second with 95% accuracy
  • Augmented and classified dataset of 11,000 chest X-rays from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Secured Georgia Tech's Create-X grant to transition research prototype toward healthcare deployment
  • Co-developed curriculum & assignments for Professor Annie Antón's AI Privacy Engineering course — the country's first of its kind
  • Head Teaching Assistant for CS 4726/6726: Privacy, Technology, Policy, Law (Fall 2024) and CS 4803/8803: AI Privacy Engineering (Spring 2024)
Aug 2017
– Dec 2023
Think Multifamily
IT Administrator (formerly IT Intern)
  • Migrated website servers and restructured codebase, improving site loading speed by nearly 70%
  • Developed 100+ automations using ActiveCampaign, Zapier, open APIs, and custom code
  • Maintained membership site with 200 members, website with ~14k monthly pageviews, and IT infrastructure

Education

Academic Background

Graduate Degree
Master of Engineering
Engineering Management
University of Colorado Boulder
Undergraduate Degree
Bachelor of Science
Economics — with High Honors
Georgia Institute of Technology

Thought Leadership

Research, Publications & Speaking

Peer-Reviewed Publications

N. Kenney and A. Antón, "Educating the Next Generation of Ethical AI Practitioners"

Journal of the 28th CISSE · Apr. 2025

N. Kenney and A. Antón, "Educating the Next Generation of Ethical AI Practitioners"

28th CISSE Conference · Tampa, FL · Nov. 2024

White Papers (Partial List)

"An Economic Analysis of Data Privacy Regulations"

N. Kenney · Mar. 2025

"Operationalizing Legal Standards for Responsible AI under the EU AI Act"

N. Kenney · Dec. 2024

"Guidance for Engineering Ethical and Safe Artificial Intelligence"

N. Kenney · Aug. 2024

"Privacy Impact Assessment: ChatGPT 4.0"

N. Kenney · Dec. 2023

Selected Talks & Interviews

"AI Innovation and Impact: A Conversation with Noah Kenney"

Play the King Podcast · May 2025

"How Bad Data Breaks Great AI Systems"

Multifamily Tech Talks · May 2025

"The Future of Work is Here: Humans and AI Unite"

Multifamily X Podcast · Feb. 2025

"Differential Privacy for AI Privacy Engineering"

Georgia Institute of Technology · Feb. 2024

Analysis & Insights

Featured Insights

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Credentials

50+ Active Certifications

Spanning 8 domains across leading universities and technology companies

💼 Business 7 certs
Business Analysis Fundamentals – Microsoft Project Valuation & Capital Budgeting – CU Boulder Product Cost & Investment Cash Flow – CU Boulder Financial Forecasting & Reporting – CU Boulder The Circular Economy – CU Boulder Sustainable Marketing & Consumer Trends – CU Boulder Becoming a Sustainability Change Agent – CU Boulder
🎯 Leadership 4 certs
Communication as a Technical Leader – CU Boulder Technical Managerial Written Skills – CU Boulder Challenges of Leading Individuals in Tech – CU Boulder Leadership Style & Building High-Performance Teams – CU Boulder
📣 Marketing 6 certs
Fundamentals of Marketing Strategy – U. London Identifying & Growing Your Digital Audience – UC Irvine Marketing Analytics Foundations – Meta Digital Media & Strategic Planning in Tech – CU Boulder Market Research & Analysis for Tech – CU Boulder Building & Pitching Marketing Campaigns in Tech – CU Boulder