Markets Decoded Inc. (“Markets Decoded”, “we”, “us”) is a value creation advisory firm, federally incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. We work with private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, lenders and advisors in Canada and the United States. Discretion is central to that work. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, and the choices you have.
We handle personal information in line with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where they apply, the privacy laws of the provinces and U.S. states in which we operate.
Who this policy covers
- Website visitors and people who contact us through the site, by email or on LinkedIn.
- Business contacts at private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, lenders and advisory firms.
- Client personnel whose information we receive while delivering an engagement.
- Candidates and members of our expert network, such as former executives who work with us on engagements.
Information we collect
- Contact and professional details you give us, such as your name, firm, role, work email and phone number, and the content of your enquiry.
- Relationship information, such as meetings, correspondence and the services you are interested in, which we keep in our business development records.
- Publicly available professional information, such as your role and firm from LinkedIn, firm websites or press releases, used only for business-to-business outreach.
- Engagement information: personal information contained in materials a client shares with us, such as organization charts, compensation data, employee survey responses or customer records.
- Expert network and candidate information, such as CVs, references and availability.
- Technical information your browser sends when you visit the site, such as IP address, browser type and pages viewed. We do not use advertising cookies on this site.
Engagement information and confidentiality
Our work often involves confidential information about portfolio companies and their people. We treat it as follows:
- We collect and use engagement information only under a written agreement with our client, such as a master services agreement, statement of work or non-disclosure agreement, and only for that engagement.
- The client remains responsible for having the authority to share the information with us. Where the client is the controller of the information, we act on its instructions.
- We limit access to the people working on the engagement, including members of our expert network who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
- We do not identify clients, sponsors or portfolio companies in our marketing without permission. Case studies use anonymized and aggregated data only.
- When an engagement ends, we return or securely destroy engagement information as the agreement requires, keeping only what we must for legal and professional records.
How we use personal information
- To respond to enquiries and arrange meetings.
- To deliver, manage and invoice engagements.
- To build and maintain business relationships, including sending relevant insights and event invitations to business contacts.
- To assess and engage members of our expert network and candidates.
- To operate, secure and improve our website.
- To meet legal, regulatory, tax and professional obligations.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for purposes unrelated to those above without your consent.
Electronic messages
We send commercial electronic messages in line with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act. Every marketing email includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can ask us to stop at any time at contactus@marketsdecoded.com.
When we share information
- Service providers who host our website and email, store files, or support our operations, under contracts that require them to protect the information.
- Expert network members working on an engagement, under confidentiality obligations.
- Professional advisors, such as our lawyers, accountants and insurers.
- Legal requirements, where disclosure is required by law, court order or a regulator.
- Business transactions, if Markets Decoded is involved in a merger, financing or sale, subject to confidentiality protections.
Cross-border processing
We serve clients in Canada and the United States, and some of our service providers store or process information outside your province, state or country, including in the United States. Information processed in another jurisdiction may be accessible to that jurisdiction’s courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. We use contractual and other safeguards to protect it.
How we protect information
We use administrative, technical and physical safeguards suited to the sensitivity of the information. These include access controls, encryption in transit, multi-factor authentication on our systems, and confidentiality commitments from our team and expert network. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect information against loss, theft and unauthorized access.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes above or as required by law. Engagement information is kept or destroyed according to the client agreement. Business development records are reviewed periodically, and contact details are removed on request.
Your choices and rights
Subject to applicable law, you can ask to access the personal information we hold about you, correct it, withdraw consent to its use, or ask us to delete it. Residents of some U.S. states may have additional rights under state privacy laws. To make a request, email contactus@marketsdecoded.com. We may need to verify your identity, and we will respond within the time the law requires. If your information came to us through a client engagement, we may refer your request to that client.
Our website
The contact form on this site opens a pre-filled email in your own email application; the site itself does not store what you type. Our website host records standard server logs to keep the site secure and working. Links to other sites, such as LinkedIn, are governed by those sites’ own policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our services or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.
Contact us
Questions or concerns about privacy can be sent to our Privacy Officer at contactus@marketsdecoded.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.