Data Privacy, Data Protection & Cookie Policy
Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (“We”) are committed to protecting and respecting your data and privacy.
This privacy policy (together with our Terms & Conditions and any other documents referred to in it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, through this website will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.
BY VISITING [imaa-institute.org] (THE “SITE”) OR ANY SUBDOMAINS YOU ARE ACCEPTING AND CONSENTING TO THE PRACTICES DESCRIBED IN THIS POLICY (INCLUDING AS UPDATED OR AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME). IF, FOR ANY REASON, YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY, PLEASE STOP USING THE SITE IMMEDIATELY.
Please click on the sections to the left to learn more about our privacy policy.
1. Who we are (Controllers)
The data controller for the Site is Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) GmbH, Hagenholzstrasse 83b, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland, and Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. You may contact us at [email protected]. As used in this Privacy Policy, “IMAA” includes the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) GmbH as well as Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and its subsidiaries and all entities IMAA controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, including subsidiaries, joint ventures or other entities in whom IMAA has a substantial ownership interest.
2. Information we may collect from you
When you use the Site or contact us by telephone, e-mail, social media, SMS, facsimile or through one of our apps, we may collect and process the following data about you:
Information you give us, including:
- Forms filled out by you on the Site;
- Content of correspondence with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise;
- Site registration;
- Subscriptions or orders placed on the Site;
- Participation in discussion boards or other social media functions on the Site;
- Entering a competition, promotion or survey;
- Reporting a problem or requesting support for the Site.
The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number, financial and credit card information, personal description, photographs or images and comments.
Information we collect about you.
With regard to each of your visits to our Site we may automatically collect the following information:
- Technical information, including IP address, login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, country of origin, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
- Information about your visit, including the full URL clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time);
- Pages you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse to and/or away from the page.
- We do not collect, but we do receive personal information about certain of your online activities across third party (non-IMAA Company) websites.
- We and third party partners may collect personal information about your online activities over time and across third party websites or online services through your use of the Site.
- Reporting a problem or requesting support for the Site.
Information we receive from other sources.
- We may receive information about you if you use any of the other websites operated by IMAA or the other services IMAA provides including but not limited to test preparation. In this case we will have informed you when we collected that data, that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on this site. We are also working closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies) and may receive information about you from them.
Mobile and Location-based Services
- We may provide mobile apps that can be downloaded to smart phones. These apps have a variety of functionalities that enhance the user experience. In addition to providing services, our apps may collect personal and Other Information that will be used in accordance with this Policy. We provide a link to this Policy to customers prior to their activation of any of our apps.
- Our Site, apps and/or mobile apps may use your device’s Global Positioning System (GPS) technology or other locations-based technologies to provide you with relevant location-based information. We may also share this information with third parties. We will abide by your device’s settings when accessing any geo-location or other location based data. To the extent any geo-location data is combined with personal information, that information will be treated as personal information in accordance with this Statement.
3. How your information may be used
We use information held about you in the following ways:
Information you give to us. We will use this information:
- To help us respond to your queries;
- To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us;
- To provide you with information about other goods and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or inquired about. Where required by applicable law, we will seek your prior written consent before doing so;
- To provide you, or permit selected third parties to provide you, with information about goods or services we feel may interest you. If you do not want us to use your data in this way, or to pass your details on to third parties for marketing purposes, please use the relevant controls situated on the forms on which we collect your data (the order or registration forms);
- To notify you about changes to our service;
- To manage your access to the services;
- To allow you to interact with our Site, for example by posting comments;
- To answer enquiries, provide information, support or advice about existing and new products or services
- Credit card information is used only for payment processing and fraud prevention.
- To allow you to share information from our Site on third party social media platforms;
- To comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
- To ensure the safety and security of our Site and of users of our Site.
- In relation to Events, including, but not limited to Event registration, communications, Event access, administration (including before, after and during the Event), participant lists, post Event feedback, quality checks, participant verification (including for sanctions and trade control purposes) research and polling;
Order-related and Promotional Email and Other Communications:
- By submitting personal information, you agree that we are authorized to transmit and you opt-in to receive email, text message, and other communications to you for the purpose of informing you about your particular order, transaction, services, or engaging in email, text message or real-time online audio or video training pursuant to your order.
- In addition, if you provided your email or mobile address for electronic newsletters, updates and promotional emails from IMAA and its affiliates, you agree that we are authorized to send and you opt-in to receive informational and promotional emails, text messages and other communications to you. You are solely responsible for any text message or data charges or other charges that may be applied by your wireless carrier for communications via those technologies. You may discontinue the receipt of future text messages by texting us with such request in response to any text message you receive from IMAA. You may discontinue the receipt of future promotional emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions that are included in each promotional email.
Information we collect about you. We will use this information:
- To administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
- To ensure proper attribution for comments or postings you may contribute to our site.
- To improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer and other devices on which you receive our content;
- To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;
- As part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure;
- To measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you;
- To make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our site about goods or services that may interest you or them;
Information we receive from other sources.
- We may combine information from other sources with information you give to us and information we collect about you. We may use this information and the combined information for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information we receive).
4. Disclosure of your information
We may share your personal information with any IMAA entity and with selected third parties including:
- Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you.
- Aggregate or anonymized data to advertisers and advertising networks that require the data to select and serve relevant advertisements to you and others. We may also use such aggregate information to help advertisers reach the kind of audience they want to target. We may make use of the personal data we have collected from you to enable us to comply with our advertisers’ wishes by displaying their advertisement to that target audience.
- Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our Site.
We may disclose your personal information to third parties:
- In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
- If IMAA or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.
- If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Terms & Conditions and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of IMAA, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
5. Where we store your personal information
All the information you provide may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world as described in this policy. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Any payment transactions, to the extent implemented by IMAA, will be encrypted using SSL technology. Payment transaction implemented by third party websites will be subject to their payment terms and processes, and IMAA shall have no responsibility relating to such transactions. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized access.
We retain personal information about you for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Policy or until you notify us to remove you from our database, unless a longer or shorter retention period is required or permitted by applicable law.
6. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you and your computer from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie policy (Section 14 – Information about Our Use of cookies).
7. How Secure is Information About Me?
We design our systems and devices with your security and privacy in mind.
We work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input.
We follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) when handling credit card data.
We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in connection with the collection, storage, and disclosure of personal customer information. Our security procedures mean that we may occasionally request proof of identity before we disclose personal information to you.
Our devices offer security features to protect them against unauthorized access and loss of data. You can control these features and configure them based on your needs.
It is important for you to protect against unauthorised access to your password and to your computers, devices, and applications. Be sure to sign off when you finish using a shared computer.
8. Children
The Site is not directed toward children under 13 years of age nor does IMAA knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to submit any personally identifiable information to IMAA.
9. Your rights
Where applicable under local law, you may request a copy of the personal information held by IMAA about you. Local law may enable us to charge a fee for this. We may require you to prove your identity with approved identification if you request this information.
You are responsible for keeping your information current and up-to-date. You may update your information by contacting us at the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) GmbH, Hagenholzstrasse 83b, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland. You may also contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
Where provided under applicable law, you may have the right to ask us for a list of personal data we share with third parties and information regarding those third parties, if the third parties use the personal data for their direct marketing purposes. In addition, where provided under applicable law, you may have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. If you are a California resident or reside in a jurisdiction that allows such requests send an e-mail to [email protected] specifying that you seek your “California Customer Privacy Notice” or other applicable Customer Privacy Notice. Please identify your location and please allow thirty days for a response.
You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by either adjusting certain controls on the forms we use to collect your data, if such controls are available on such forms, or by modifying your profile by logging in to imaa-insitute.org. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) GmbH, Hagenholzstrasse 83b, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland. You may also contact us by e-mail at [email protected] or by updating your profile at imaa-institute.org, which will include information on how to opt-in or opt-out of use of your information.
If you prefer not to receive marketing or promotional emails from IMAA or the Site, please let us know by clicking on the unsubscribe link within any promotional email you receive from us. Please note that such requests may take up to ten (10) days to become effective.
Your Choices
IMAA gives you the choice of receiving a variety of information that complements our products and services. You can subscribe to receive certain product- and service-specific information and also choose to receive IMAA general communications. We give you a choice regarding delivery of IMAA general communications by the communication means through which IMAA may contact you, which may include postal mail, email, SMS, telephone, or mobile device.
You can make or change your choices about receiving either subscription or general communications at the data collection point or by using other methods, which are listed in this Policy. This option does not apply to communications primarily for the purpose of administering order completion, contracts, support, product safety warnings, or other administrative and transactional notices where the primary purpose of these communications is not promotional in nature.
Subscription Communication
Subscription communications include email newsletters, member updates, job listings, daily news feeds and other types of information that may be expressly requested by you or which you consented to receive. After you request such communications, you may opt out of receiving them by using one of the following methods:
Select the email “opt out” or “unsubscribe” link, or follow the opt-out instructions included in each email subscription communication.
Return to your profile page at imaa-institute.org and follow the opt-out instructions.
Write to the IMAA Office (contact details below). Be sure to provide your name, relevant contact information, and specific relevant information about the IMAA subscriptions that you no longer wish to receive.
10. Google Analytics
Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google Inc. (“Google”) is used on this website. The use includes the “Universal Analytics” operating mode. This makes it possible to assign data, sessions and interactions across multiple devices to a pseudonymous user ID and thus analyze a user’s activities across devices. This data protection notice is provided by https://www.intersoft-consulting.de.
Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users interact with the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there. However, if IP anonymisation is activated on this website, Google will reduce your IP address within Member States of the European Union or in other states party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area beforehand. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. We would like to point out that on this website Google Analytics has been extended to include IP anonymisation in order to ensure anonymous collection of IP addresses (so-called IP masking). The IP address transmitted by your browser in the context of Google Analytics is not merged with other Google data. For more information on terms of use and data protection, please visit https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/gb.html or https://policies.google.com/
Purposes of the Processing
On behalf of the operator of this website, i.e. IMAA, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide the website operator with other services related to website and Internet use.
Legal Basis
The legal basis for the use of Google Analytics is your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR (https://gdpr-info.eu/art-6-gdpr/).
Recipients or Categories of Recipients
The recipient of the collected data is Google.
Transfer to Third Countries
Personal data will be transferred to the USA under the EU-US Privacy Shield on the basis of the European Commission’s adequacy decision. You can download the certificate here: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI.
Duration of Data Storage
The data sent by us and linked to cookies, user-identifiers (e.g. User-IDs) or advertising-identifiers are automatically deleted after 14 months. Data whose retention period has been reached is automatically deleted once a month.
Rights of the Persons affected
You can revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future by blocking the storage of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly; however, we would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all functionalities of this website to their full extent.
You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of the website (including your IP address) and from processing this data by Google by downloading and installing the Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Opt-out cookies will prevent future collection of your data when you visit this website. To prevent Universal Analytics from collecting data across different devices, you must opt-out on all systems used. If you click here, the opt-out cookie will be set: <a href=”javascript:gaOptout()”><strong>Disable Google Analytics</strong></a>
11. Links to third party sites
Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.
12. Changes to our privacy policy
Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
13. Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to:
Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) GmbH
Hagenholzstrasse 83b
8050 Zurich
Switzerland
You may also contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
14. Information about Our Use of cookies
Our website uses cookies and other similar technologies (such as pixel tags, code snippets and web beacons) (collectively, “Cookies”) to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.
Below we explain the different types of Cookies that may be used on the Site.
- Required Cookies Required Cookies are necessary for the Site to work, and enable you to move around it and use the services and features. Disabling these Cookies may encumber the Site’s performance, and may make the services and features unavailable.
- Functional Cookies We use Functional Cookies to save your settings on the Site—settings such as your language preference, or other information you have previously used when registering with us. We also use Functional Cookies to store such things as the last search, etc., so you can easily find it the next time you visit. Some Functional Cookies are essential to viewing maps or videos on our Site. We also use “Flash Cookies” for some of our content.
- Advertising Cookies Advertising Cookies allow us and other advertisers to show you the most relevant products, offers, and advertisements on the Site and third-party sites. For example, some Advertising Cookies help our third party partners and other advertisers select advertisements that are based on your interests including those expressed or inferred across websites and online services and over time. Others help prevent the same advertisement from continuously reappearing for you. These types of Cookies also help us provide you with content on the Site that is tailored to your interests and needs.
- Advertising Cookies also include Social Plug-In Cookies and Analytics Cookies. Social Plug-In Cookies are used to share content from the Site with members and non-members of social media networks. These Cookies are usually set by the social networking provider, enabling such sharing to be smooth and seamless. Analytics Cookies collect information about your use of the Site, and enable us to improve the way it works. These Cookies provide us with aggregated information on metrics such as the most frequently visited pages on the Site, help us record any difficulties you had with the Site, help us monitor how our visitors reach the Site, and show us whether advertising by us or others is effective or not. This also allows us to see the overall patterns of usage on the Site, rather than just the usage of a single person.
We distinguish between session Cookies and persistent Cookies.
- Session Cookies. These types of Cookies are stored only temporarily during a browsing session, and are deleted from your device when you close the browser. We use session Cookies to support the functionality of the Site and to understand your use of the Site—that is, which pages you visit, which links you use and how long you stay on each page.
- Persistent Cookies. These types of Cookies are not deleted when you close your browser, but are saved on your device for a fixed period of time or until you delete them. Each time you visit the Site, the server that set the Cookie will recognize the persistent Cookie saved on your device. We and others use persistent Cookies to store your preferences, so that they are available for your next visit, to keep a more accurate account of how often you visit the Site, how often you return, how your use of the Site may vary over time and the effectiveness of advertising efforts.
Other Technologies may also be used, allowing us and third parties to know when you visit the Site, and to understand how you interact with emails or advertisements. Through Other Technologies, non-personal information or aggregate information (i.e., your operating system, your browser version, and the URL you came from) may be obtained and used to enhance your experience and understand traffic patterns. Note that, to the extent information collected through Cookies and Other Information constitutes personal information, the provisions in the Privacy Policy apply and complement this Policy.
Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.
If you want to delete or disable any cookies (or similar technologies), please refer to the instructions of your file management software to locate the file and directory that stores cookies. You may not be able to take advantage of all the features of our Website, including certain personalised features, if you delete or disable cookies.
Please be aware that rejecting Cookies may affect your ability to perform certain transactions on the Site, and our ability to recognize your browser from one visit to the next.
For more information on how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, please go to www.allaboutcookies.org.
We may change and update our list of cookies (or similar technologies) from time to time. If you use our cookies (or similar technologies) after we have published these changes, you will be agreeing to be bound by those changes. If you do not consent to the use of the cookies (or similar technologies) at any time, please see above on how to disable cookie
