Larnel J Hight

I build the governance
that makes innovation safe
at enterprise scale.

25 years of security leadership, enterprise architecture, and hands-on building. Now focused on AI governance — because someone has to make sure the future does not break the present.

LET'S TALKMY STORY
Larnel J Hight
CISSPAI GOVERNANCEENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURETECHNOLOGY RISKNIST AI RMFCLOUD SECURITYDIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONPROGRAM LEADERSHIPADVERSARIAL MLZERO TRUSTRESILIENCECOMPLIANCECISSPAI GOVERNANCEENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURETECHNOLOGY RISKNIST AI RMFCLOUD SECURITYDIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONPROGRAM LEADERSHIPADVERSARIAL MLZERO TRUSTRESILIENCECOMPLIANCE
The Arc

Three eras. One thread.

THE FOUNDATION

2000 — 2012

Started in the trenches. Network security, infrastructure builds, the kind of work where you learn what breaks and why. Fortune 500 environments taught me that scale creates complexity — and complexity is where risk hides. I built my instincts here.

THE SHIFT

2012 — 2021

Moved into architecture and strategy. Cloud migrations, resilience programs, security transformation across distributed environments. This is where I learned that the hardest problems are never technical. They are alignment problems. People problems. Trust problems.

THE CURRENT

2021 — PRESENT

AI changed the game. I saw organizations racing to adopt tools they did not understand, creating risk categories that did not exist two years ago. I built governance structures, risk frameworks, and evaluation models from scratch. This is where I operate now.

CISSPAIGP (IN PROGRESS)
Original Thinking

How I think about the work.

People, Process, Technology

My operating philosophy. In that order. Always. Technology is the last mile, not the first decision. When you get the people and process right, the technology choices become obvious.

LEADERSHIPGOVERNANCE

AI Risk Evaluation Model

A structured framework for scoring AI deployment risk across legal, ethical, operational, and reputational dimensions. Not theoretical — built from real governance board decisions.

AI GOVERNANCERISK

Secure-by-Architecture

Security is not a layer you add. It is a foundation you build on. Every architecture decision I make starts with threat modeling and ends with resilience testing.

SECURITYARCHITECTURE

Governance-First Adoption

New technology without governance is just organized chaos. I establish oversight structures before deployment — not after the incident report lands on someone's desk.

GOVERNANCESTRATEGY
Active Ventures

What I am building right now.

Enterprise AI Governance

Advisor & Architect
active

Building governance structures and risk frameworks for organizations adopting AI at scale. Board-level risk visibility, evaluation models, cross-functional alignment.

Render Defense

Founder
building

Security governance platform for growing businesses. Enterprise-grade security posture management, compliance tracking, and risk scoring — made accessible.

Adversarial ML Research

Collaborator
active

Partnered with TrojAI on adversarial machine learning evaluation datasets. Real-world threat scenarios informing enterprise AI security controls.

Technology Risk Advisory

Independent Consultant
ongoing

Helping organizations navigate cloud migration, resilience improvements, and infrastructure modernization. Structured program management with phased execution.

Writing & Thinking

What is on my mind.

PERSPECTIVEMAR 2026

Why AI Governance Cannot Be an Afterthought

Organizations deploying AI without governance structures are building on sand. Here is what I have seen go wrong — and how to fix it before the audit.

FRAMEWORKFEB 2026

Risk-Informed Decision Making for AI Deployment

Every AI deployment decision should be grounded in structured risk assessment. Not intuition. Not hype. Not what the vendor told you in the demo.

CASE STUDYJAN 2026

Building an Enterprise AI Governance Board from Zero

No precedent. No playbook. Fast-moving technology. Diverse stakeholders. Here is how we built a governance structure that actually works.

OPINIONDEC 2025

The Biggest Mistake in Enterprise Architecture

Effective architecture is not about diagrams. It is about enabling outcomes. Too many architects forget that the org chart matters more than the system diagram.

Connect

I am not hard to find.
But I am selective about
where I invest my time.

If you are serious about AI governance, security leadership, or building something that matters — reach out. No sales calls. No tire kickers. Real conversations only.

EMAIL MELINKEDIN