ASCEND FOR GROWTH PRIVACY POLICY Last Updated: September 5, 2026 Ascend Executive Group LLC (“Ascend,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you visit or use Ascend For Growth, including https://ascendforgrowth.com/, create an account, complete an assessment, upload materials, purchase a paid feature, invite or provide colleague feedback, communicate with us, participate in beta, preview, pilot, or other pre-release testing, or otherwise interact with our website, platform, reports, and related services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Platform”). This Privacy Policy is a notice of our information practices. It does not apply to third-party websites, services, or platforms that we do not control, even if they link to or are accessible through the Platform. We may provide additional or just-in-time notices for particular features, collection points, or activities. Notice at Collection and Summary At or before collecting personal information, Ascend may provide a link to this section or another notice that describes the information collected and its intended use. In summary: • Categories collected. We collect the categories described under “Personal Information We Collect,” including identifiers, account information, professional and employment-related information, assessment and feedback information, uploaded materials, transaction information, device and usage information, and inferences or Reports derived from those inputs. • Purposes. We use information for the purposes described under “How We Use Personal Information,” including providing and improving the Platform, administering assessments, generating Reports, using AI-assisted tools, collecting colleague feedback, processing payments, communicating, securing the Platform, and complying with law. • Sale or sharing. As of the Last Updated date, Ascend does not sell personal information for monetary consideration and does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under California law. • Retention. We retain information using the criteria described under “Retention of Personal Information,” including the length and nature of our relationship, the need to maintain assessments and Reports over time, security and legal obligations, and the purpose for which the information was collected. Scope of This Privacy Policy This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through the Platform, in email and other electronic communications with Ascend, through assessment and colleague-feedback workflows, through uploads and payments, and through cookies, logs, and similar technologies used in connection with the Platform. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected by an employer, coach, organization, or other third party independently of Ascend. Future executive-coach or enterprise offerings may be subject to additional or different privacy notices and agreements. United States Use and Age Limitations The Platform is intended for use by individuals located in the United States who are at least eighteen (18) years old. The Platform is not directed to children under thirteen (13), and Ascend does not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen. If you believe a child has provided personal information to Ascend, contact us using the information below so that we can take appropriate action. Personal Information We Collect For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked to an individual, household, device, or online identifier. Depending on how you interact with the Platform, Ascend may collect the following categories: Category Examples Identifiers and contact information First and last name, email address, mailing address if provided, account name, online identifiers, and other contact information. Account and authentication information Account registration details, username, password or authentication credentials handled through our authentication provider, account status, preferences, and security information. Professional and employment-related information Current or target role, employer or company information, industry, work context, professional aspirations, leadership experiences, career goals, development priorities, and related professional information. Assessment and behavioral information Behavioral Style Assessment responses, Leadership Insight responses, scaled and open-text responses, self-evaluations, work-style information, assessment progress, scores, classifications, and related inputs. Uploaded professional-development materials Resumes, job descriptions, performance reviews, development plans, leadership assessments, career-planning materials, 360 reviews, feedback documents, and similar materials that you choose to upload. Colleague contact and relationship information Names, email addresses, relationship information, response windows, and other details provided when a user invites a colleague or professional contact to provide feedback. Colleague feedback Scaled responses, open-text feedback, relationship context, survey responses, and other information submitted by an invited feedback participant. Payment and transaction information Product purchased, amount, payment status, purchase history, billing details, refunds, and limited payment-related information. Stripe or another processor handles complete payment-card information. Communications, beta feedback, and testimonials Emails, support requests, contact-form submissions, survey responses, product suggestions, bug reports, beta feedback, testimonials, and other communications. Device, internet activity, and approximate location information IP address, browser and device type, operating system, cookie and online identifiers, referring pages, pages viewed, features used, dates and times of access, logs, and approximate location inferred from IP address. Inferences, insights, and Reports Profiles, classifications, scores, readiness observations, strengths, growth opportunities, themes, recommendations, and other inferences or outputs generated from assessment responses, uploaded materials, colleague feedback, and Platform activity. Sensitive Information and Uploaded Materials Ascend is designed for professional growth and does not intentionally request medical records, psychological evaluations, protected-class information, employment-investigation materials, government identification numbers, financial account credentials, precise geolocation, biometric identifiers, or other highly sensitive personal information. Uploaded documents or open-text responses may nevertheless contain sensitive, confidential, or third-party information. Please review materials carefully and do not submit information that is not reasonably necessary for your use of the Platform or that you are not authorized to provide. Ascend may remove or decline to process information that it believes is inappropriate, unlawful, or unnecessary, but Ascend does not undertake to screen every submission. How We Collect Information Ascend may collect personal information from the following sources: • Directly from you when you visit the Platform, create or update an account, complete assessments, make a purchase, upload materials, invite colleagues, submit feedback or a testimonial, request support, or otherwise communicate with Ascend. • From invited colleagues or professional contacts when they provide structured feedback about a user through the Platform. • Automatically through the Platform, including through cookies, logs, local storage, pixels, tags, scripts, and similar technologies. • From service providers and vendors that help Ascend authenticate users, operate and host the Platform, process payments, deliver emails, provide AI-assisted features, secure systems, and analyze or improve the Platform. • From other sources that you authorize or direct Ascend to use, if applicable. How We Use Personal Information Ascend may use personal information for the following purposes: • to provide, operate, maintain, support, and improve the Platform; • to create and manage accounts, authenticate users, and maintain security; • to administer the Behavioral Style Assessment, Leadership Insight, colleague-feedback features, Reports, and related experiences; • to process assessment responses, uploaded materials, colleague feedback, and other inputs and generate observations, recommendations, readiness profiles, growth themes, and Reports; • to use AI-assisted technologies and service providers to synthesize, summarize, generate, and present narrative content; • to invite colleagues or professional contacts to provide feedback and send related reminders and notices; • to process purchases, payments, refunds, taxes, and other transaction-related matters; • to send account, security, transactional, assessment, report, beta, support, service, and optional marketing communications; • to personalize, analyze, measure, test, troubleshoot, debug, improve, and develop the Platform, Reports, assessment methodology, scoring logic, product messaging, onboarding, and user experience; • to detect, investigate, prevent, and respond to fraud, misuse, unauthorized access, security incidents, and illegal activity; • to create aggregated, anonymized, or deidentified information for analytics, research, benchmarking, security, product development, and business purposes; • to enforce the Terms of Use and other agreements, protect Ascend and others, and establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; • to comply with law, legal process, and governmental requests; and • for any other purpose disclosed at collection, with your consent, or as otherwise permitted by law. AI-Assisted Processing Ascend uses or may use artificial intelligence, machine-learning, and related technologies, including services provided by OpenAI and other vendors, to assist with synthesizing information, generating narrative explanations, identifying themes, drafting observations and recommendations, and creating or refining Reports. Information submitted through assessments, uploaded materials, and colleague feedback may be processed through AI-related service providers for these purposes. Ascend uses those providers under the terms, settings, privacy commitments, and security practices applicable to Ascend’s use of their services. Ascend may replace or add AI providers as the Platform develops. AI-assisted processing is used to support professional-development content and does not independently make hiring, promotion, compensation, employment, psychological, medical, credit, insurance, housing, education, healthcare, or other decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects. Ascend may use aggregated or deidentified information to improve its own Platform, methodology, and reporting as described in this Privacy Policy. Colleague Feedback and Information About Others A user may provide a colleague’s or professional contact’s name, email address, relationship information, and related details so that Ascend can request structured feedback. Ascend may use that information to send invitations, reminders, deadlines, and other communications necessary to administer the feedback process. Colleague feedback is not anonymous to Ascend. Ascend is designed primarily to aggregate, summarize, synthesize, or paraphrase colleague feedback to identify themes, patterns, and professional-development insights for the assessed user. Ascend does not ordinarily reproduce individual comments verbatim in a Report, but may reproduce, excerpt, attribute, or otherwise use limited feedback content when reasonably necessary to provide, support, troubleshoot, secure, or improve the Platform, respond to a complaint or dispute, comply with law, or with the feedback participant’s consent. Ascend does not guarantee that a feedback participant’s identity will be concealed from the assessed user or that the assessed user will be unable to infer the participant’s identity. Cookies and Similar Technologies Ascend and its service providers use cookies, local storage, session identifiers, server logs, and similar first-party operational technologies to authenticate users, maintain sessions, save assessment progress, provide Report functionality, remember preferences, secure and troubleshoot the Platform, measure technical performance, and maintain internal records of feature use. Ascend does not currently use third-party advertising, retargeting, cross-site tracking, or session-replay technologies. Because the operational technologies described above support core Platform functions, blocking or deleting them through your browser settings may prevent certain features from functioning properly. If Ascend later adds non-essential analytics, advertising, marketing, retargeting, session-replay, or similar technologies, Ascend will update this Privacy Policy and provide any notice, consent, opt-out, or preference-management mechanism required by applicable law. How We Disclose Personal Information Ascend may disclose personal information in the following circumstances: • Service providers and vendors. Ascend may disclose information to providers that perform services on Ascend’s behalf, including hosting, authentication, database, payment, AI generation, email delivery, source control, analytics, DNS, security, support, and professional services. • Payment processors. Ascend may provide transaction and limited personal information to Stripe or another processor to process purchases, prevent fraud, and manage billing, refunds, taxes, and related matters. • AI providers. Ascend may provide relevant inputs to OpenAI or another AI provider to support AI-assisted features and Report generation. • Invited colleagues. Ascend may disclose information reasonably necessary to identify the user and administer a feedback request. • The user receiving a Report. Ascend may include or summarize assessment responses, uploaded materials, colleague feedback, and derived insights in Reports made available to the applicable user. • Professional advisors. Ascend may disclose information to attorneys, accountants, auditors, insurers, consultants, and other professional advisors. • Legal, safety, and compliance recipients. Ascend may disclose information to comply with law, legal process, or governmental requests; enforce agreements; prevent fraud or security incidents; or protect the rights, privacy, safety, or property of Ascend, users, feedback participants, or others. • Business transaction recipients. Ascend may disclose information in connection with a potential or completed merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or similar transaction. • With your consent or at your direction. Ascend may disclose information for other purposes disclosed to you or with your consent. • Aggregated or deidentified information. Ascend may disclose information that does not reasonably identify an individual, subject to applicable law. Current Service Providers Ascend currently uses or may use the following service providers. This list may change as the Platform develops: Provider Primary Function Supabase Authentication, database, and storage services. Stripe Payment processing, billing, fraud prevention, and transaction support. OpenAI AI-assisted narrative generation, synthesis, and report support. Resend Email delivery and related communications. Vercel Website and application hosting, deployment, and performance. Each provider processes information under its own terms, privacy commitments, and security practices. Ascend may add, replace, or discontinue providers and will update this Privacy Policy when a material change requires notice. Sale, Sharing, Targeted Advertising, and Profiling As of the Last Updated date, Ascend does not sell personal information for monetary consideration and does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under California law. Ascend does not process personal information for targeted advertising or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Ascend may use service providers for analytics, security, hosting, email, payment processing, and similar operational purposes. These disclosures are described in this Privacy Policy and are not intended as sales of personal information. If Ascend changes its practices in a manner that creates an opt-out right under applicable law, Ascend will update this Privacy Policy and provide any required opt-out mechanism. Aggregated, Anonymized, and Deidentified Information Ascend may create aggregated, anonymized, or deidentified information from personal information, assessment data, Reports, feedback, and Platform usage. Ascend may use and disclose this information for analytics, research, benchmarking, product development, methodology improvement, security, business planning, and other lawful purposes. Ascend will not attempt to reidentify deidentified information except as permitted by law to test or validate its deidentification practices. Retention of Personal Information Ascend retains personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted or required by law. The criteria Ascend uses to determine retention periods include: • the nature, sensitivity, and volume of the information; • the purpose for which the information was collected and whether that purpose remains active; • the length and nature of Ascend’s relationship with the user or feedback participant; • whether the information is needed to maintain an account, complete an assessment, generate or preserve current or prior versions of a Report, support reassessment or refreshed Reports, compare development over time, or administer colleague feedback; • legal, tax, accounting, insurance, contractual, and recordkeeping requirements; • security, fraud-prevention, backup, dispute-resolution, and legal-claims needs; and • whether the information can be aggregated, anonymized, or deidentified instead of retained in identifiable form. Because the Platform is intended to support growth over time, Ascend may retain assessment responses, uploaded materials, colleague feedback, Reports, and related data to allow a user to review prior results, refresh a Report, or compare assessments. A user may request deletion as described below, subject to applicable exceptions and Ascend’s need to retain certain records. At the end of the applicable retention period, Ascend may delete, destroy, deidentify, aggregate, or otherwise dispose of the information. Security Ascend uses commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental loss and unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure. Ascend also relies on service providers to protect information processed through their systems. No website, platform, transmission method, or storage system is completely secure. Ascend cannot guarantee the absolute security of personal information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and using appropriate care when deciding what information to submit, upload, or communicate electronically. Your Choices and Controls • Account information. You may review or update certain account information through your account settings or by contacting Ascend. • Marketing emails. You may opt out of marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link included in those emails or contacting Ascend. Ascend may continue sending non-marketing communications related to your account, assessments, payments, security, Reports, feedback requests, or legal notices. • Cookies. You may manage cookies through your browser or any cookie-preference tool Ascend makes available. Disabling cookies may affect Platform functionality. • Privacy requests. Depending on your state of residence and applicable law, you may request access, correction, deletion, or portability of certain personal information or exercise other rights described below. • Account deletion. You may request account deletion by contacting Ascend. Deleting an account may prevent access to prior assessments and Reports, and Ascend may retain information as permitted or required by law. State Privacy Rights Depending on your state of residence, Ascend’s size and activities, and applicable legal thresholds and exceptions, you may have certain rights regarding personal information. These rights may include: • Access and portability. The right to confirm whether Ascend processes personal information about you, access that information, and receive certain information in a portable format. • Correction. The right to request correction of inaccurate personal information. • Deletion. The right to request deletion of personal information, subject to legal and operational exceptions. • Opt-out rights. The right to opt out of certain sales, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling. Ascend does not currently engage in those activities as described under “Sale, Sharing, Targeted Advertising, and Profiling.” • Appeal. The right, in some states, to appeal Ascend’s decision regarding a privacy request. • Non-discrimination. The right not to receive unlawful discriminatory treatment for exercising an applicable privacy right. To submit a privacy request, email [email protected] with the subject line “Privacy Request.” Please describe your request with enough detail for Ascend to understand and respond. Ascend may need to verify your identity and authority before processing a request. Ascend will respond within the time required by applicable law and may deny or limit a request when permitted by law. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf where permitted by law. Ascend may require proof of the agent’s authority and may verify your identity directly. If Ascend denies a request and applicable law grants an appeal right, you may appeal by contacting Ascend using the same methods and including “Privacy Request Appeal” in the subject line. If you are an invited feedback participant, you may contact Ascend to request access to or deletion of your contact information or feedback, subject to applicable law, verification, the integrity of completed Reports, and Ascend’s legal and operational retention needs. California Privacy Disclosures This section supplements the remainder of this Privacy Policy for California residents. It applies only if and to the extent the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended (“CCPA”), applies to Ascend and the relevant information. • Categories of Personal Information. During the preceding twelve (12) months, Ascend may have collected the following CCPA categories, as described more fully under “Personal Information We Collect”: identifiers; personal information categories described in California Civil Code Section 1798.80(e); commercial information; internet or other electronic network activity; professional or employment-related information; inferences; and sensitive personal information limited to account credentials or information a user chooses to include in uploaded materials or open-text responses. • Sources, Purposes, and Disclosures. Ascend collects these categories from the sources described under “How We Collect Information,” uses them for the purposes described under “How We Use Personal Information,” “AI-Assisted Processing,” and “Colleague Feedback and Information About Others,” and may disclose them for business purposes to the categories of recipients described under “How We Disclose Personal Information” and “Current Service Providers.” • Sensitive Personal Information. Ascend does not intentionally use or disclose sensitive personal information to infer protected or sensitive characteristics about a consumer. Professional-development inferences are based on assessment, feedback, and professional information and are not intended to infer race, health status, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected or sensitive traits. Any sensitive personal information Ascend receives is used only as reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide the Platform, maintain accounts and security, process transactions, generate user-requested professional-development content, or perform other purposes permitted by law. • California Rights. If the CCPA applies, California residents may have the right to know and access personal information, request correction or deletion, obtain certain information in a portable format, and receive non-discriminatory treatment for exercising CCPA rights. Because Ascend does not currently sell or share personal information, Ascend does not currently provide a sale or sharing opt-out link. Ascend will honor legally valid opt-out preference signals if and when required by applicable law and relevant to Ascend’s practices. California Civil Code Section 1798.83 may permit California residents to request information regarding disclosures of personal information to third parties for those parties’ direct-marketing purposes. Ascend does not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct-marketing purposes without consent. You may submit questions using the contact information below. Third-Party Websites and Services The Platform may contain links to third-party websites, applications, social-media pages, or services. Ascend does not control and is not responsible for the privacy, security, content, or practices of third parties. Information you provide directly to a third party is governed by that third party’s privacy policy and terms. Changes to This Privacy Policy Ascend may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Platform, information practices, vendors, business operations, or law. Ascend will post the updated policy, change the Last Updated date, and provide additional notice when required by law or when Ascend determines appropriate. Please review this Privacy Policy periodically. Ascend will obtain consent if required before applying a materially different use to personal information previously collected. Contact Information For privacy questions, concerns, or requests, contact: Ascend Executive Group LLC Email: [email protected] Website: https://ascendforgrowth.com/