1. This Notice 

This Notice is issued by GSZ Partner GmbH on behalf of itself, and its affiliates (together, GSZ Partner GmbH “we”, “us” and “our”) and is addressed to candidates, clients, users of our services, visitors to our sites and other individuals outside our organization with whom we interact (together, “you”). This Privacy Policy is not necessarily a comprehensive description of our data processing. It is possible that other privacy notices, consent forms, terms and conditions or similar documents are applicable to specific circumstances. 
The term “Personal Data” in this Privacy Notice means any information that identifies, or could reasonably be used to identify any person. If you provide us with Personal Data of other persons, we assume that you are authorized to do so, and that the relevant data is accurate. When you share data about others with us, you confirm that. Please make sure that these individuals have been informed about this Privacy Policy. 

This Notice may be amended or updated from time to time to reflect changes in our practices with respect to the processing of Personal Data, or changes in applicable law. We encourage you to read this Notice carefully, and to regularly check our website to review any changes we might make in accordance with the terms of this Notice. 

This Privacy Notice is aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation («GDPR»), the Swiss Data Protection Act («DPA») and the revised Swiss Data Protection («revDPA»). However, the application of these laws depends on each individual case. 

2. Controller and Contact 

The “controller” of this Notice is GSZ Partner GmbH. If you have questions regarding the collection, processing or use of your Personal Data, or if you wish to exercise your rights (information, rectification, restriction, deletion) or withdraw consent, please contact: 

GSZ Partner GmbH 

Hegnaustrasse 60 

8602 Wangen b. Zürich 

Switzerland 

[email protected]

3. Collection and Creation of Personal Data 

You are generally not obliged or required to disclose data to us. However, if you wish to enter into contracts with us or use our services, you must also provide us with certain data as part of your contractual obligation and/or in order for us to provide our services. 

Primarily we process Personal Data that we directly obtain from you (e.g., you contact us, you provide your CV, you purchase a service from us). We may also collect Personal Data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. commercial register, press, internet, social media) and create Personal Data about you, such as records of your interactions with us, and any interactions we have with clients on your behalf. 

In this context, we may automatically assess certain personal aspects relating to you (profiling) on the basis of your data for the purposes described in section 4-5, including the analysis of preferences, the detection of misuse and security risks, statistical analysis, and operational planning. Where profiling is carried out, we ensure that the results are proportionate and reliable and implement safeguards to prevent misuse of such profiles or profiling. If profiling is capable of producing legal effects concerning you or otherwise significantly affecting you, we generally provide for appropriate human review. 

4. Categories of Personal Data 

The categories of Personal Data that we may process include, but are not limited to: 

• Personal details: Given name(s), preferred name, photograph, employment history, education, other qualifications or skills, and any other typical CV content
• Demographic information: Gender, date of birth / age, nationality, salutation, title, and language preferences
• Contact details: Correspondence address, phone number(s), email address and details of public social media profile(s)
• Views and opinions: Any views and opinions that you choose to send to us, or publicly post on social media platforms
• Consent records: Records of any consents you may have given, together with the date and time, means of consent and any related information (e.g., the subject matter of the consent)
• Data relating to our sites: Device type, operating system, browser type, browser settings, IP address, language settings, dates and times of connecting to a site, username, security login details, usage data, aggregate statistical information
• Content and advertising data: Records of your interactions with our online advertising and content, records of advertising and content displayed on pages displayed to you, and any interaction you may have had with such content or advertising including mouse hover
• Employer details: Where you interact with us in your capacity as an employee, the name, address, phone number and email of your employer, to the extent relevant

5. Purpose of Data Processing and Legal Grounds 

We mainly use collected Personal Data to establish and fulfill contractual relationships with our clients and business partners, especially in connection with board and executive search, business and leadership consulting, and related advisory services, and to meet our legal obligations under domestic and foreign law. 

We may process your Personal Data under the following circumstances, where: 

• You have given your prior consent
• We have a legitimate interest in promoting your business, provided that such interest is not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms
• The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or required by applicable law

In addition, in line with applicable law and where appropriate, we may process your Personal Data and Personal Data of third parties for the following purposes, which are in our (or, as the case may be, any third parties’) legitimate interest, such as: 

• Provision of services: Providing, developing and improving our products and services as well as our sites or other platforms, on which we are active
• Communications: Communicating with you via our site and by any means (including email, phone, text message, social media, post, or in person) about news items and other information in which you may be interested, subject to ensuring that such communications are provided in compliance with applicable law, maintaining and updating your contact information where appropriate, and obtaining your prior opt-in consent where required
• Background and compliance checks: Fulfilling our compliance obligations, including “Know Your Client” checks, and confirming and verifying your identity and screening against government and/or law enforcement agency sanctions lists and other legal restrictions
• Health, safety and security: Physical and electronic security of our premises to ensure the health and safety of our facilities as well as protection of individuals and assets
• IT operations: Management of our communications systems, operation of IT security systems, and IT security audits
• Financial management: Sales, finance, corporate audit, and vendor management
• Legal proceedings and investigations: Establishing, exercising and defending legal rights as well as detecting, investigating and preventing policy breaches and criminal offences, in accordance with applicable law

6. Disclosure and Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties and Abroad 

In line with the purposes of the data processing set out in section 3-5 and in the context of our business activities, we may need to transfer data to third parties (insofar as such a transfer is permitted and we deem it appropriate) in order for them to process data for us or, as the case may be, their own purposes. If we engage a third-party processor to process your Personal Data, the processor will be bound by contractual obligations requiring it to process the Personal Data only in accordance with our prior written instructions and to implement appropriate measures to protect the confidentiality and security of the Personal Data, together with any additional requirements under applicable law. 

In particular, the following categories of recipients may be concerned: 

• Clients, suppliers, subcontractors and other business partners
• Third party processors e.g., payment services providers, IT providers, shipping companies, located anywhere in the world
• Accountants, auditors, lawyers and other outside professional advisors
• Legal and regulatory authorities, upon request, or for the purposes of reporting any actual or suspected breach of applicable law or regulation
• Domestic and foreign authorities and courts and other parties for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security
• Any relevant third-party acquirer(s), in the event that we sell or transfer all or any relevant portion of our business or assets

Due to the international nature of our business, certain recipients may be within Germany, but they may be located in any country worldwide. You must expect that your data may be transmitted to any country in which our clients, their affiliates, business partners, service providers or consulted experts are located, in particular to countries in Europe an the United States. 

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies 

We generally use cookies and similar technologies on our website that enable the identification of your browser or device. 

Cookies are small text files that may be stored on your computer or other device when you visit a website. Different types of cookies exist and can be distinguished by their origin, purpose, and duration. In addition to cookies, we may use web beacons (also known as clear GIFs) or comparable technologies, either alone or in combination with cookies. A web beacon is typically a transparent graphic image (usually 1 x 1 pixel) embedded in a website or email and helps us understand how visitors interact with our website. 

Further information about cookies and web beacons, including how to manage cookies, is available at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/faqs/beacons.html. Please note that these are third-party websites not affiliated with us, and we are not responsible for their content. 

8. Date Security 

We have put in place appropriate technical and organisational security measures to safeguard your Personal Data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, modification, unauthorised disclosure or access, and other unlawful or unauthorised forms of processing, in accordance with applicable law. 

As the internet is an open network, the transmission of information online cannot be completely secure. While we take all reasonable steps to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to us over the internet. Any such transmission is at your own risk, and you are responsible for ensuring that Personal Data you provide to us is transmitted securely. 

9. Retention Periods for your Personal Data 

We process your Personal Data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Notice. Personal Data is retained in an identifiable form only for the required period, unless a longer retention is mandated by applicable law, including where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights. 

10. Your Rights 

Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights in relation to the processing of your Personal Data: 

• Not to provide your Personal Data to us; however, please note that in such cases we may not be able to provide you with the full benefit of our services
• To request confirmation as to whether we process Personal Data relating to you and, where this is the case, to request access to such data and information about its nature, processing, and disclosure
• To request the rectification of inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data
• To request the erasure of your Personal Data or the restriction of its processing, where applicable and on legitimate grounds
• To object, on legitimate grounds, to the processing of your Personal Data by us or on our behalf
• To request that certain Personal Data be provided to you or transferred to another controller in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format (data portability), where applicable
• To withdraw that consent at any time where processing is based on your consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal or processing based on another legal basis
• To receive further information necessary to exercise these rights
• To lodge a complaint with a competent data protection authority regarding the processing of your Personal Data by us or on our behalf

To exercise the rights set out above or to raise questions regarding this Notice or our processing of your Personal Data, please contact us using the details provided in section 2. We may request proof of identity before acting on your request. Where further clarification or assessment is required, we will review your request without undue delay before determining the appropriate action.