Whether you manage a family office, a foundation or a sophisticated proprietary investment structure, you are likely processing personal data. That means data protection obligations apply, often more extensively than many private structures expect.

M/HQ’s latest opinion piece, Understanding Data Protection: A Guide for Private Structures in the DIFC and the ADGM, co-authored with lecocqassociate, provides a practical and proportionate roadmap to navigating data protection requirements in the DIFC and ADGM. The guide explains what the rules mean in practice, highlights common risk areas, and includes clear examples, do’s and don’ts, and a comparison table setting out the key obligations under each regime.

Hermione Harrison, Partner at M/HQ, notes: “Data protection obligations are often overlooked, but ignorance is not a defence and can carry lasting consequences”

As part of M/HQ’s corporate secretarial services, data protection obligations are closely monitored alongside governance, regulatory filings, and ongoing compliance requirements. This ensures that private structures under M/HQ’s umbrella remain aligned with DIFC and ADGM expectations as they evolve, without imposing unnecessary operational burden.

If you want to understand what actually needs to be done, and how to approach data protection in a way that is proportionate and practical, this guide is a strong starting point.

Who we are

M/HQ is a multi-services platform catering to successful individuals and entrepreneurial families. Our one-stop-shop offering is unique in the Middle East: a holistic and cross-disciplinary combination of a market- leading corporate services firm, a private client specialist team and a regulatory & compliance services practice, all through one single platform.

We have extensive experience advising on a broad range of wealth structuring and legacy planning issues. We particularly assist in establishing and servicing Family- and Group- Holdings, Single- and Multi- Family offices, Foundations, and other asset consolidation/protection and intergenerational wealth management structures. 

Headquartered in the UAE, we are an entrepreneurial firm for entrepreneurial clients.