Privacy Policy

1. Scope & who we are

This Privacy Policy describes how Telesto Strategy LLC ("Telesto," "we," "us," or "our") processes personal information in connection with telestostrategy.com and any sub-domains, our marketing materials, our AI chatbot, our HALO and ARIA engagements, and any other Telesto services that link to this Policy (collectively, the "Services"). Telesto is a Delaware limited liability company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Contact details you submit through forms, the chatbot, email, or phone, including name, business email, company, role, and the contents of your message.
• Engagement information you share during a HALO or ARIA assessment, including transactional context you choose to share with our team.
• Recruiting information you submit through "Join Telesto," including résumés, work history, and references.

Newsletters and podcast

When you subscribe to a Telesto newsletter, including What's next or The Diligence Brief, we collect your email address and, if you choose to provide them, your name, firm and role. We also record when and where you subscribed and whether you confirmed your subscription. We use this information to send the newsletter you requested, to measure opens and clicks in aggregate, and to improve our content. We send What's next only after you confirm your subscription by email. The Diligence Brief is sent only to readers whose request Telesto has approved. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you appear as a guest on the What's next conversation series, we collect the information needed to schedule and record the conversation, including your name, title, firm, contact details, and the audio and video recording of the conversation. We use and publish recordings only as agreed in your guest release.

Information collected automatically

• Device and usage data, including IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, time on page, and approximate location derived from IP.
• Cookies and similar technologies as described in Section 7.

Information from third parties

• Public sources, including LinkedIn, regulatory filings, and corporate websites, used for business-development research.
• Service providers, including hosting, analytics, and email-delivery vendors who process limited information on our behalf.

3. How we use information

We use personal information to operate, improve, and secure the Services; respond to inquiries; deliver and administer engagements; send marketing communications you have requested; evaluate job applicants; comply with law; and exercise or defend legal claims. We do not sell personal information.

4. When we share information

We disclose personal information only as follows:

• Service providers bound by contractual confidentiality and security obligations (e.g., cloud hosting, analytics, email).
• Professional advisors such as auditors, accountants, and counsel.
• Legal and safety recipients where disclosure is required by law, subpoena, regulatory request, or to protect rights, property, or safety.
• Corporate transactions, in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or asset sale, subject to standard confidentiality protections.

Our service providers include beehiiv (newsletter publishing and email delivery), Plausible Analytics (website analytics), Calendly (scheduling), Riverside (podcast recording), and our website hosting provider.

5. Legal bases (GDPR)

For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation: contract (to deliver requested services), legitimate interests (to operate, improve, and secure the Services and conduct business development, balanced against your rights), consent (where required, including for marketing emails and non-essential cookies), and legal obligation.

Newsletter emails are sent on the basis of consent. You may withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing.

6. Your rights (GDPR & CCPA/CPRA)

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, port, restrict, or object to processing of your personal information; to withdraw consent; and to lodge a complaint with a data-protection authority. California residents have additional rights under the CCPA/CPRA, including the right to know, the right to delete, the right to correct, the right to limit use of sensitive personal information, and the right to opt out of "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising. Telesto does not sell personal information and does not engage in cross-context behavioral advertising.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@telestostrategy.com. We will verify your request and respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

Other U.S. state privacy rights

Depending on where you live, including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon and other states with comprehensive privacy laws, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or obtain a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal information, and certain profiling. Telesto does not sell personal information and does not use it for targeted advertising. To exercise your rights, email privacy@telestostrategy.com. If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our response; we will respond to appeals as required by law.

7. Cookies & analytics

We use Plausible Analytics to understand how our website is used. Plausible does not use cookies and does not collect personal data such as IP addresses in a form that identifies you; it reports aggregate statistics only.

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies to operate the site, plus optional analytics cookies to understand aggregate usage. You can disable cookies through your browser settings. Where required by law, we will request your consent before setting non-essential cookies.

8. AI chatbot

Our chatbot uses third-party large-language-model providers to generate responses. Conversations may be logged for quality, security, and dispute-resolution purposes and may be retained for up to twenty-four (24) months. Do not submit confidential, regulated, or sensitive personal information through the chatbot. Chatbot output is generated by AI and may contain errors; it is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

9. Data retention & security

We keep newsletter subscriber information while you remain subscribed and for a limited period after you unsubscribe so that we can honor your request and keep records of consent.

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. International transfers

Telesto is based in the United States. If you access the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. Where required, we use Standard Contractual Clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

11. Children

The Services are intended for business users and are not directed to children under sixteen (16). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated through the Services or by email where appropriate.

13. Contact us