GCG data protection policy
This privacy policy describes the collection and use of your personal data made by Geneva Consulting Group SA as data controller, a joint-stock company incorporated under Swiss law with Swiss company registration number CHE-100.787.240 whose registered offices at Avenue de Miremont 8 B, CH-1206 Geneva, Switzerland (hereinafter referred to as "GCG").
For any questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A. Which data does GCG collect?
In the context of your organisation’s membership in GCG (or potential membership) or collaboration or your participation at a GCG and/or GGI Global Alliance AG (GGI) event, GCG may collect the following information about you: name, gender, title, date of birth, position, email address, phone number, key competences, practice area, special interests, CV, picture, social media pages (such as your LinkedIn profile), memberships, languages spoken, private, political and business positions, insurances, signature, address, travel arrangement details, accommodation preferences, credit card details, identity card or passport copy, visa information, participation in meetings, participation in optional activities, information about transactions and deals concluded.
GCG may also collect data about your (minor) children when they accompany you to events organised by GCG and/or GGI. In that case, GCG may collect their names, photo, accommodation dates, travel arrangement details, participation in optional activities and their identity card or visa when it is necessary.
This information may qualify as personal data under the applicable legislation (including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) n° 2016/679).
GCG may also collect “special categories” of personal data, such as health condition, allergies and dietary preferences.
The collected personal data are considered useful or even necessary for GCG to provide its services to its members and events’ participants. Some data are mandatory (such as name, e-mail address, picture, address, accommodation dates, participation in meetings, participation in optional activities, your company name: without these data, you will not be able to benefit from GCG’s services. Other data is optional and will allow GCG to provide a better service.
B. Use of personal data
1. Purposes of the processing and legal bases for processing
GCG processes the above-mentioned information for the following purposes:
- Compiling and using general or specific mailing lists for sending newsletters, announcements (e.g. new members) and information emails (e.g. related to a particular conference)
- Listing in the GCG and GGI global directories publicly accessible online at www.gcg.org and www.ggi.com
- Organising and executing GCG and GGI activities (e.g. contacting members for participating in GCG and GGI projects such as writing articles for the newsletter or publications on social media, matchmaking and networking, organising social events, invoicing)
- Analysis of the activities and the functioning of the GCG organisations (e.g. post-event analysis based on the attendance of the delegates of the various sessions)
- Business development activities related to candidates for GCG and GGI membership, potential partnerships and/or collaborations
- Announcements on new members on social media and sharing of members’ articles on social media
- Inclusion in the GCG and GGI’s website internal areas downloadable Excel files (including the contact details)
- Publication of tombstones related to members’ transactions
Where possible GCG requests your consent for the processing of your personal data. GCG will also ask for your specific consent when it processes sensitive data (e.g. dietary requirements). However, it is not always possible to process your personal data on the basis of your consent. GCG will process your personal data where you act as the contact person or representative of your organisation, for the performance of the contract that GCG has with your organisation (e.g. organisations of meetings, networking or conferences); such processing will serve the legitimate interest of GCG, your organisation and third parties involved. GCG also has a legitimate interest in processing the personal data of representatives or contact persons of prospects on the basis of its legitimate interests, i.e. for promoting GCG and GGI’s activities and membership. Similarly, prospects have a legitimate interest in being informed about GCG and GGI opportunities. Such processing has a limited impact on your rights and freedoms (as a representative of your organisation), considering the non-sensitive nature of the data and the limited data processing involved.
Concerning the processing of special categories of data, you have given your explicit consent for such processing.
2. Recipients of personal data
GCG may share your personal data with other GCG and GGI members (e.g. for referrals or recommendations or in the context of Practice Group and Industry Group activities).
GCG may share your data with processors and GCG partners, such as genevents GmbH, GGI Global Alliance AG, GGI North America Services Corp., Geneva Group International (Latin America) S.A., Geneva Capital Group AG, and GCG International AG. GCG will only transfer your data in the pursuit of purposes such as the organisation of events and conferences, networking, matchmaking or business development activities.
GCG may also share your personal data (in particular your name and contact details) when it communicates publicly on the (new) membership of organisations (e.g. for marketing purposes and for the listing in the global rankings). Recipients of your personal data will be organisations such as Association of International Law Firms Network (AILFN), European Group of International Accounting Networks (EGIAN), International Accounting Bulletin (IAB), Accountancy Magazine and Accountancy Age.
Your personal data may also be communicated to the general public when GCG and GGI sends newsletters or posts announcements via social media.
3. Transfer outside the European Economic Area
Your data will be processed outside the European Economic Area, i.e. in Switzerland, and transferred to and within the European Economic Area, the United States, Argentina and Uruguay. These
countries have been recognised as providing an adequate level of protection of personal data, by the adoption of an adequacy decision by the European Commission (see https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en).
Your data may also be transferred to Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. Your rights as a data subject are guaranteed on the basis of the standard data protection clauses (as proposed by the European Commission).
4. Retention of your personal data
GCG will process your personal data as long as your data are useful for the listed purposes. In principle, it will store and use your data as long as your organisation is a member or a prospect of GCG and you remain a representative of your organisation. Where the processing is based on consent, GCG will stop processing your data when you withdraw your consent.
5. Your rights as data subjects
In addition to the information contained in this data protection policy, you have the right to access the personal data which GCG processes regarding you. Should the personal data that GCG has regarding you be incorrect or incomplete, you are entitled to have the data rectified.
You have the right to request from GCG the erasure of your personal data, when they are no longer necessary for the listed purposes, when you withdraw your consent or when you object to the processing (if GCG or third parties have no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing), when GCG has unlawfully processed the personal data or when GCG is subject to a legal obligation to erase the data. GCG will honour your request, unless it is subject to a legal obligation requiring it to process your personal data, the processing is done for reasons of public interest (public health), for archiving or statistical purposes and for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
You are entitled to request the restriction of processing (temporarily) if the accuracy of the personal data is contested, the processing is unlawful and you prefer the restriction of the processing to the erasure of your data, if GCG no longer needs your data except for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or while it is being verified whether your legitimate interests override GCG’s.
You have the right to object to the processing, when the processing is based on GCG‘s or third party’s legitimate interests, on the basis of your particular situation. You also have the right to object when your data are processed for direct marketing purposes by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletters that you receive.
You are entitled to receive the data concerning you in a structured, machine-readable format that is commonly used and you have the right to have the data transmitted to a controller of your choice (data portability).
You can exercise these rights by sending an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Should you have a complaint concerning the processing of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent national supervisory authority.
Cookie Policy
A cookie is a small text file containing data for technical session logging and enabling GCG to store information related to the user's computer and/or device for the duration of the user's use of the Website. Cookies help GCG to determine how frequently the Website is accessed as well as the number of users. Cookies also allow GCG to tailor the Website Content to the user's interests and to improve its functionality.
The web server of GCG places cookies in the memory of the user's computer and/or device. These cookies allow GCG an anonymous evaluation of general user behavior, based on the number of visitors, for the purpose of optimizing Website Content. The user can also use Website Content without cookies. However, most browsers accept cookies by default. The user can prevent the saving of each cookie, or receive a warning from the browser before a cookie is saved, by changing browser settings. Further information about these functions can be found in the help menu of the browser. Non-browser-based solutions do not offer this option. It may be that the user's use of certain functions or parts of Website Content will be restricted or blocked if the user prevent the use of cookies.
Below you will find specifically lists the cookies used on the website
Joomla CMS: Cookies generated by this CMS serve exclusively to the management and maintenance of the same. The cookies in question are generated to ensure good user's browsing session, or to manage the system log of the site, in order to prevent web attacks and provide greater security to the user. It is understood that the above cookie will be deleted when the user leaves the site, and then no data is maintained within the site.
Google Analytics: Cookies related to the analysis and monitoring of the software in question anonymously collect some data about the use of the site as page views, time spent on site etc. Also in this case no sensitive data that can connect the user to the navigation is stored, in this way respecting the privacy of the public web.
Locking or deleting Cookies
Users can set the computer's browser so that it accept / reject all cookies or to display a warning whenever a cookie is offered, in order to assess whether or not to accept .
The user is allowed, however ,to change the default configuration ( default ) and disable cookies ( ie block a final ), by setting the security level higher. You can find information about how to manage cookies in your browser to the following addresses: Google Chrome , Mozilla Firefox , Apple Safari and Microsoft Windows Explorer.
If you disable the cookies that we use, this could affect navigation on our site, or prevent you from visiting certain sections or to use certain services offered by the site.
Security of information
GCG has implemented accepted standards of technical measures and security policies that are aimed at protecting the personal data it has under its control from:
- unauthorised access
- improper use or disclosure
- unauthorised modification
- unlawful destruction or accidental loss
All GCG personnel are required to keep personal information confidential and only authorised persons have access to such information. Please note that the Website contains links to other sites (including sites maintained by Partners) which are not governed by this privacy statement.
Choices
You have several choices regarding your use of the Website. In general, you are not required to submit any personal information when you visit our websites, but GCG may require you to provide certain personal information in order for you to receive additional information about our services and events. If you opt-in for particular services or communications, such as an e-newsletter, you will be able to unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions included in each communication or on the website.
Additional general conditions governing the Privacy Statement
The rejection of any liability and/or responsibility regarding the Website and its content and other terms and/or conditions contained in this Privacy Statement are also applicable to all companies associated or affiliated with GCG, particularly GCG member firms (Partners).
GCG reserves the right to change all and/or any of the regulations mentioned above at any time without any prior announcement. Unless explicitly indicated otherwise, the new regulations shall immediately apply to all information, indications etc. featured on the GCG Website. By continuing to use the GCG Website, you accept all changes of such regulations.
The invalidity or unenforceability in any jurisdiction of any of these terms shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other of these terms. If any term is held to be invalid or unenforceable it shall be deemed to be amended to the minimum extent required to render such term valid or enforceable, such amendment to be determined by GCG.
The Privacy Statement indicated above shall be governed by and are construed in accordance with Swiss substantive laws (excluding the rules of the conflict of laws) and the courts of Zurich, Switzerland shall have exclusive jurisdiction in any possible dispute.