Privacy Policy
Who we are
ProGen Search Limited (Ground Floor, Techno Centre, Station Road, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 5BJ) provides executive search and market intelligence to organisations in the life sciences sector. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy.
Discretion is central to our work. Candidates trust us with their careers and clients trust us with their plans, and we handle personal data with the same care.
What this policy covers
This policy explains what personal data we collect, where it comes from, how and why we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have. It applies to candidates, referees, clients, professional contacts and anyone who uses our website, tools or event apps.
The personal data we collect
Candidates. Contact details, CVs, career history, qualifications, compensation information you share with us, interview notes and references. We only process sensitive personal data, such as health information or ethnic origin, where you have given your explicit consent.
Referees. Your name, contact details and the reference you provide.
Clients and professional contacts. Name, job title, organisation and business contact details.
Website, tools and event apps. The details you enter, such as your name, email address and organisation, the reports and services you request, and a record of how you use them.
Where it comes from
Most personal data comes directly from you. We also collect information from people who recommend you, from your referees, and from publicly available professional sources such as company websites, professional networks, regulatory filings, clinical trial registries, press releases, conference materials and published research.
How we use it
We use personal data to run executive searches: to identify and approach people who may suit a role, to assess suitability, to present shortlisted candidates to the client who commissioned the search, and to support both sides through to appointment.
We also use it to provide and improve our website, tools and event apps, to keep them secure, to respond to enquiries and requests, and to keep in touch with clients, candidates and professional contacts about our services, research and events.
If you register with us as a candidate, you can also ask us to approach selected organisations on your behalf. When we do, our first approach describes your experience without naming you, your current employer or sharing your CV, and we do not identify you to any organisation until we have spoken with you and you have agreed.
Our legal basis
Most of our processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in finding and assessing candidates, serving our clients and growing our business. Before relying on legitimate interests, we consider whether your rights and freedoms outweigh them, and we keep our processing proportionate.
Where we act for a client, processing their staff's data is also necessary to perform our contract with that client.
Where you opt in to something, such as newsletters, event emails, approaches on your behalf or the processing of sensitive data, we rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Confidentiality and sharing
We never put a candidate forward to a client without their agreement, and we treat every search and every candidate conversation as confidential.
We share candidate information with the client commissioning the relevant search. Carefully selected service providers, such as the companies that host and support our systems and deliver our email, process data on our instructions under written agreements that require them to keep it secure and confidential.
Where personal data is transferred outside the UK or the European Economic Area, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place. We never sell personal data.
Keeping your data secure
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including access restricted to those who need it, encrypted connections and secure storage. Candidate documents are held in private storage and are never published.
Marketing and how to opt out
We may contact clients, candidates, professional contacts and people who have used our website, tools or event apps about our services, research and events. Every email we send includes a way to stop further emails, and you can opt out at any time by replying or emailing us. We keep a minimal record of your opt-out so that we respect it.
How long we keep it
- Candidate, referee and client records: 7 years.
- Website and tool enquiries: 3 years from your last interaction.
- Event app data: deleted within four months of the event.
- Professional contact records: for as long as they remain current and relevant.
If you ask us to delete your data or to stop contacting you, we will, keeping only what we need to respect that request.
If you do not provide information
If you do not provide the information a search needs, or you withdraw your consent, we will not be able to consider you for that opportunity.
Automated decisions
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects.
Cookies
Our website uses analytics cookies to understand how it is used so that we can improve it. Our event apps set one cookie that keeps you signed in.
Your rights
Under data protection law you have the right to:
- be informed about how we use your personal data;
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected;
- ask us to delete your data, where there is no overriding reason to keep it;
- restrict or object to how we use your data, including for marketing;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw any consent you have given, at any time.
To use any of these rights, email us. We do not normally charge, and we respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Contact us
For any question about this policy or your personal data, contact Byron Fitzgerald at byron.fitzgerald@progensearch.com.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version is always on this page.
Last updated: October 2026