Privacy policy

This Notice is issued by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (together, the “AESC”, “we”, “us” and “our”) and is addressed to anyone who is using, or has access to, the AESC Member service or the AESC’s Free Service for Clients (together, “you”). Defined terms used in this Notice are explained in Section (S) below.

For the purposes of this Notice, the AESC is the Controller. Contact details are provided in Section (R) below.

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 this page to review any changes we might make in accordance with the terms of this Notice.

Collection of Personal Data: We may collect Personal Data about you from the following sources:

• Data you provide: We may obtain your Personal Data when you provide it to us (e.g., where you contact us via email or telephone, or by any other means, or when you submit your details to AESC).
• Relationship data: We may collect or obtain your Personal Data in the ordinary course of our relationship with you (e.g., your user account information and history).
• Data you make public: We may collect or obtain your Personal Data that you manifestly choose to make public, including via social media (e.g., we may collect information from your social media profile(s), if you make a public post about us).
• Site data: We may collect or obtain your Personal Data when you visit any of our Sites or use any features or resources available on or through a Site.
• Registration details: We may collect or obtain your Personal Data when you use, or register to use AESC, or any of our other services.
• Content and advertising information: If you choose to interact with any third party content or advertising on a Site, we may receive Personal Data about you from the relevant third party.
• Third party information: We may collect or obtain your Personal Data from third parties who provide it to us or who make it publicly available (e.g., your firm; etc.).

We may also create Personal Data about you, such as records of your interactions with us, and details of your purchase history.

Where appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of this Notice, we may Process the following categories of Personal Data about you:

• Personal details: given name(s); preferred name; and photograph.
• Demographic information: gender; nationality; salutation; title; and language preferences.
• Contact details: correspondence address; telephone number; email address; and details of your public social media profile(s).
• Purchase details: records of purchases and prices.
• Payment details: invoice records; payment records; billing address; payment method; bank account number or credit card number; cardholder or accountholder name; card or account security details; card ‘valid from’ date; card expiry date; BACS details; SWIFT details; IBAN details; payment amount; payment date; and records of cheques.
• Qualifications: employment history; certifications; educational background; resume/CV; and languages spoken.
• Employment history: employment status; job title or board position; job function; companies you have worked for; functions that are relevant to your career experience; industries that are relevant to your career experience; specialties that are relevant to your career experience; compensation levels; professional biography that you provide; and countries and geographical regions in which you have experience, or in which you are currently employed or seeking future employment.
• Information relating to diversity reporting: gender and ethnicity.
• 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; password; 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, mouse clicks, any forms you complete (including incomplete forms not submitted) and any touchscreen interactions).
• Views and opinions: any views and opinions that you choose to send to us, or publicly post about us on social media platforms.

In Processing your Personal Data in connection with the purposes set out in this Notice, we may rely on one or more of the following legal bases, depending on the circumstances:

• Consent: We may Process your Personal Data where we have obtained your prior, express consent to the Processing (this legal basis is only used in relation to Processing that is entirely voluntary – it is not used for Processing that is necessary or obligatory in any way);
• Contractual necessity: We may Process your Personal Data where the Processing is necessary in connection with any contract that you may enter into with us;
• Compliance with applicable law: We may Process your Personal Data where the Processing is required by applicable law;
• Vital interests: We may Process your Personal Data where the Processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of any individual; or
• Legitimate interests: We may Process your Personal Data where we have a legitimate interest in carrying out the Processing for the purpose of managing, operating or promoting our business, and that legitimate interest is not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms.

We do not seek to collect or otherwise Process your Sensitive Personal Data in the ordinary course of our business. Where it becomes necessary to process your Sensitive Personal Data for any reason, we rely on one of the following legal bases:

• Compliance with applicable law: We may Process your Sensitive Personal Data where the Processing is required or permitted by applicable law (e.g., to comply with our diversity reporting obligations);
• Detection and prevention of crime: We may Process your Sensitive Personal Data where the Processing is necessary for the detection or prevention of crime (including the prevention of fraud);
• Establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights: We may Process your Sensitive Personal Data where the Processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights; or
• Consent: We may Process your Sensitive Personal Data where we have, in accordance with applicable law, obtained your prior, express consent prior to Processing your Sensitive Personal Data (this legal basis is only used in relation to Processing that is entirely voluntary – it is not used for Processing that is necessary or obligatory in any way).

We may process your personal data for the following purposes, subject to applicable law:

• Provision of services to you: providing AESC Sites and our other services to you, and to other users of AESC, our Sites and our other services; providing you with services that you have requested; providing you with promotional items at your request; and communicating with you in relation to those services.
• Our services: operating and managing AESC, our Sites and our other services; providing content to you; displaying information to you, including in relation to potential opportunities; communicating and interacting with you via AESC or our Sites; and notifying you of changes to AESC or any of our Sites, or our other services.
• Communications: communicating with you via any means (including via email, telephone, text message, social media, post or in person) news items and other information in which you may be interested, subject to ensuring that such communications are provided to you in compliance with applicable law; maintaining and updating your contact information where appropriate; and obtaining your prior, opt-in consent where required.
• Communications and IT operations: management of our communications systems; operation of IT security systems; and IT security audits.
• Surveys: engaging with you for the purposes of obtaining your views on our services.
• Investigations: detecting, investigating and preventing breaches of policy, and criminal offences, in accordance with applicable law.
• Legal proceedings: establishing, exercising and defending legal rights.
• Legal compliance: compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations under applicable law.
• Tailoring our Sites and services: personalising our Sites and services to your requests and preferences.
• Improving our Sites and services: identifying issues with AESC, our Sites, or our other services; planning improvements to AESC, our Sites, or our other services; identifying issues with BlueSteps, our Sites, or our other services; planning improvements to BlueSteps, our Sites, or our other services; and creating new Sites, or services.

We may disclose your Personal Data within the AESC, for legitimate business purposes (including operating our Sites, and providing services to you), in accordance with applicable law. In addition, we may disclose your Personal Data to:

• third parties who work with us to provide you with the services you have requested, subject to appropriate contractual protections;
• if you are employed by an executive search or leadership consulting firm that is a member of the AESC: clients or prospective clients of AESC member firms, who register for the AESC’s Free Service for Clients, and candidates or prospective candidates who are members of BlueSteps, who are authorised to access your Personal Data via the AESC Member Directory, in accordance with the provisions of this Notice and our Terms and Conditions;
• legal and regulatory authorities, upon request, or for the purposes of reporting any actual or suspected breach of applicable law or regulation;
• accountants, auditors, lawyers and other outside professional advisors to the AESC, subject to binding contractual obligations of confidentiality;
• third party Processors (such as payment services providers; shipping companies; etc.), located anywhere in the world, subject to the requirements noted below in this Section (H);
• any relevant party, law enforcement agency or court, to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights;
• any relevant party 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 (including in the event of a reorganization, dissolution or liquidation); and
• any relevant third party provider, where our Sites use third party advertising, plugins or content. If you choose to interact with any such advertising, plugins or content, your Personal Data may be shared with the relevant third party provider. We recommend that you review that third party’s privacy policy before interacting with its advertising, plugins or content.

If we engage a third-party Processor to Process your Personal Data, the Processor will be subject to binding contractual obligations to: (i) only Process the Personal Data in accordance with our prior written instructions; and (ii) use measures to protect the confidentiality and security of the Personal Data; together with any additional requirements under applicable law.

Because of the international nature of our business, we may need to transfer your Personal Data within the AESC, and to third parties as noted in Section (H) above, in connection with the purposes set out in this Notice. For this reason, we may transfer your Personal Data to other countries that may have different laws and data protection compliance requirements to those that apply in the country in which you are located.

Where we transfer your Personal Data from the EEA to recipients located outside the EEA who are not in Adequate Jurisdictions, we do so on the basis of providing services to you under the contract entered into when you signed up to the BlueSteps service.

Please note that when you transfer any Personal Data directly to an AESC recipient located outside the EEA, we are not responsible for that transfer of your Personal Data. We will nevertheless Process your Personal Data, from the point at which we receive those data, in accordance with the provisions of this Privacy Policy.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational security measures designed to protect your Personal Data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, unauthorised access, and other unlawful or unauthorised forms of Processing, in accordance with applicable law.

Because the internet is an open system, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will implement all reasonable measures to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to us using the internet – any such transmission is at your own risk and you are responsible for ensuring that any Personal Data that you send to us are sent securely.

We take every reasonable step to ensure that:

• your Personal Data that we Process are accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; and
• any of your Personal Data that we Process that are inaccurate (having regard to the purposes for which they are Processed) are erased or rectified without delay.

From time to time we may ask you to confirm the accuracy of your Personal Data.

We take every reasonable step to ensure that your Personal Data that we Process are limited to the Personal Data reasonably necessary in connection with the purposes set out in this Notice.

We take every reasonable step to ensure that your Personal Data are only Processed for the minimum period necessary for the purposes set out in this Notice. The criteria for determining the duration for which we will retain your Personal Data are as follows:

(1) we will retain copies of your Personal Data in a form that permits identification only for as long as:

• (a) we maintain an ongoing relationship with you (i.e., for the duration for which you are an AESC Member or user of AESC’s free Service for clients.); or
• (b) your Personal Data are necessary in connection with the lawful purposes set out in this Notice, for which we have a valid legal basis (e.g., where we have a legal obligation to retain your Personal Data),
• plus:

(2) the duration of:

• (a) any applicable limitation period under applicable law (i.e., any period during which any person could bring a legal claim against us in connection with your Personal Data, or to which your Personal Data may be relevant); and
• (b) an additional two (2) month period following the end of such applicable limitation period (so that, if a person brings a claim at the end of the limitation period, we are still afforded a reasonable amount of time in which to identify any Personal Data that are relevant to that claim),
• and:

(3) in addition, if any relevant legal claims are brought, we may continue to Process your Personal Data for such additional periods as are necessary in connection with that claim.

During the periods noted in paragraphs (2)(a) and (2)(b) above, we will restrict our Processing of your Personal Data to storage of, and maintaining the security of, those data, except to the extent that those data need to be reviewed in connection with any legal claim, or any obligation under applicable law.

Once the periods in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) above, each to the extent applicable, have concluded, we will either:

• permanently delete or destroy the relevant Personal Data; or
• anonymize the relevant Personal Data.

Under applicable law, you may have a number of rights, including: the right not to provide your Personal Data to us; the right of access to your Personal Data; the right to request rectification of inaccuracies; the right to request the erasure, or restriction of Processing, of your Personal Data; the right to object to the Processing of your Personal Data; the right to have your Personal Data transferred to another Controller; the right to withdraw consent; and the right to lodge complaints with Data Protection Authorities. We may require proof of your identity before we can give effect to these rights.

Subject to applicable law, you may have a number of rights regarding the Processing of your Relevant Personal Data, including:

• the right not to provide your Personal Data to us (however, please note that we may be unable to provide you with the full benefit of AESC, our Sites, or our other services, if you do not provide us with your Personal Data – e.g., we may not be able to process your orders without the necessary details);
• the right to request access to, or copies of, your Relevant Personal Data, together with information regarding the nature, Processing and disclosure of those Relevant Personal Data;
• the right to request rectification of any inaccuracies in your Relevant Personal Data;
• the right to request, on legitimate grounds:
  • o erasure of your Relevant Personal Data; or
  • o restriction of Processing of your Relevant Personal Data;
• the right to object, on legitimate grounds, to the Processing of your Relevant Personal Data by us or on our behalf;
• the right to have certain Relevant Personal Data transferred to another Controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, to the extent applicable;
• where we Process your Relevant Personal Data on the basis of your consent, the right to withdraw that consent (noting that such withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of any Processing performed prior to the date on which we receive notice of such withdrawal, and does not prevent the Processing of your Personal Data in reliance upon any other available legal bases); and
• the right to lodge complaints with a Data Protection Authority regarding the Processing of your Relevant Personal Data by us or on our behalf.
• This does not affect your statutory rights. To exercise one or more of these rights, or to ask a question about these rights or any other provision of this Notice, or about our Processing of your Personal Data, please use the contact details provided in Section (R) below. Please note that: we may require proof of your identity before we can give effect to these rights; and where your request requires the establishment of additional facts (e.g., a determination of whether any Processing is non-compliant with applicable law) we will investigate your request reasonably promptly, before deciding what action to take.

When you visit a Site we may place Cookies onto your device, or read Cookies already on your device, subject always to obtaining your consent, where required, in accordance with applicable law. We use Cookies to record information about your device, your browser and, in some cases, your preferences and browsing habits. We may Process your Personal Data through Cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

The use of AESC Sites, or our other online services is subject to our Terms and Conditions. We recommend that you review our Terms of Use regularly, in order to review any changes we might make from time to time.

We may Process your Personal Data to contact you via email, telephone, direct mail or other communication formats to provide you with information regarding services that may be of interest to you. If we provide services to you, we may send information to you regarding our services, upcoming promotions and other information that may be of interest to you, using the contact details that you have provided to us and always in compliance with applicable law.

You may unsubscribe from our promotional email list at any time by managing your email preferences within AESC, or by simply clicking on the unsubscribe link included in every promotional email we send. After you unsubscribe, we will not send you further promotional emails, but we may continue to contact you to the extent necessary for the purposes of any services you have requested.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about any of the information in this Notice, or any other issues relating to the Processing of Personal Data carried out by us, or on our behalf, please contact:

info@aesc.org
United States: 1 (212) 398-3995
International: + (1) 212 398-9556