Last Updated: [9th July 2025]

1. Introduction

Welcome to the Forttuna Global Excellence Awards (“Company,” “we,” “us,” “our”). We are committed to protecting your privacy, data security, and user rights in compliance with international data protection and privacy laws.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you visit https://awards.forttuna.com, submit nominations, make payments, complete jury questionnaires, or otherwise interact with us globally.

2. Data Controller and Contact Details

The Forttuna Group (Global Awards Division)

[Burj Al Salam, Trade Center 1, Dubai, UAE | Dubai / Global Offices]

Email: privacy@forttuna.com

If you are in the EU/EEA, UK, Canada, Brazil, or other regulated regions, we act as the Data Controller for your personal data.

3. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information:

a) Identity Data:

• Full name
• Job title
• Company/Organization name
• Country and city
• Nationality (if provided voluntarily)

b) Contact Data:

• Email address
• Phone number
• Social media handles (if provided)

c) Payment Data:

• Cardholder name
• Billing address
• Partial card details (we do not store full card numbers or CVV codes; payments are processed through PCI DSS-compliant third-party providers like Stripe/PayPal/Razorpay)

d) Nomination and Jury Data:

• Jury application answers
• Nomination details
• Business information
• Personal statements or testimonials

e) Technical Data:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Operating system
• Device type
• Site interaction logs
• Cookies and tracking data

f) Marketing Data:

• Newsletter opt-ins
• Communication preferences

g) Sensitive Data:

Only if voluntarily provided, such as diversity declarations, DEI data (used only for anonymized aggregate reporting and never for profiling).

We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR / Global Compliance)

Depending on your location, we process your data under:

• Your explicit consent (e.g., newsletter, promotional material)
• Performance of a contract (e.g., processing your nomination, jury application, payment)
• Legal obligation (e.g., tax and financial compliance)
• Legitimate interests (e.g., fraud prevention, operational analysis)

Where required, we obtain explicit opt-in consent for sensitive data or international data transfers.

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your information for:

• Processing nominations and jury applications
• Managing event participation
• Processing payments securely
• Communicating award decisions and updates
• Publishing nominee and winner profiles (only with consent)
• Conducting analytics and improving user experience
• Marketing (if consented)
• Fulfilling legal and regulatory obligations
• Preventing fraud and abuse

6. Payment Processing

All online transactions are processed through PCI DSS Level 1-compliant third-party payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay).

We do not store your full card number or CVV/CVC codes on our servers.

7. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your data with:

• Payment processors (for secure transactions)
• CRM and Email marketing platforms (only with opt-in)
• Internal Forttuna Group staff and jury members (for application evaluation)
• Legal authorities (if required)
• IT and security service providers
• Analytics providers (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, etc.)

We never sell your personal data.

8. International Data Transfers

Given our global reach, your data may be transferred outside your home country, including to UAE, US, EU, India, and others.

We ensure:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for EU/EEA users
• Additional safeguards for cross-border data flows
• Data minimization and encryption for sensitive data transfers

9. Data Retention

We retain your data only for as long as:

• Required for award program purposes
• Legally required (financial records, compliance, etc.)
• Necessary for legitimate business interests (analytics, fraud prevention)

You can request deletion by emailing: privacy@forttuna.com

10. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access your data
• Correct inaccuracies
• Request deletion
• Restrict processing
• Object to marketing
• Request data portability
• Withdraw consent
• Lodge a complaint with a Data Protection Authority

To exercise these rights, contact us: privacy@forttuna.com

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not engage in any automated decision-making or profiling with legal or similarly significant effects.

12. Data Security

We deploy state-of-the-art technical and organizational safeguards including:

• SSL encryption
• Firewalls
• Intrusion detection systems
• Multi-factor authentication (for internal access)
• Regular vulnerability scans
• Data minimization principles

However, no internet transmission is entirely secure.

13. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Please see our Cookie Policy below.

14.Third-Party Links

Our site may link to external sites (e.g., event partners, media coverage). We are not responsible for their privacy practices.

15. Policy Updates

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy. Changes will be posted with an updated “Effective Date.”

16. Contact Us

Forttuna Global Excellence Awards – Data Privacy Team

Email: privacy@forttuna.com

Website: https://awards.forttuna.com