Leadership Academy Berlin, owner Christopher Lesko As of: July 2026

**Note:** This English version is a translation provided for convenience only. The legally binding version is the German version (“Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen”). In the event of any discrepancy or dispute regarding interpretation, the German version shall prevail.

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§ 1 Scope of Application and Incorporation of the GTC

(1) These General Terms and Conditions apply to all offers, contracts and services of Leadership Academy Berlin, owner Christopher Lesko – hereinafter the “Contractor” –, in particular to consulting, coaching, training, facilitation, organisational development, change and other services.

(2) These GTC apply exclusively to entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), legal persons under public law and special funds under public law. Contracts with consumers are not subject to these GTC.

(3) These GTC apply in the version incorporated at the time the contract is concluded. They also apply to future business relationships with the same client without the need for renewed express reference, provided they were effectively brought to the client’s attention beforehand.

(4) Deviating, conflicting or supplementary terms and conditions of the client shall not become part of the contract unless the Contractor expressly agrees to their application in writing. This also applies if the Contractor renders services without reservation while aware of such terms.

(5) Individual agreements, in particular offers, service descriptions, order confirmations or separate individual contracts, shall take precedence over these GTC in the event of any conflict.

(6) Legally relevant declarations and notifications by the client relating to the contract require at least text form, unless a stricter form is prescribed by law.

 

§ 2 Conclusion of Contract

(1) The Contractor’s offers are subject to change and non-binding unless expressly designated as binding.

(2) A contract is concluded through written acceptance of an offer, through written order confirmation, through the signing of an individual contract, or through commencement of the agreed service.

(3) The type and scope of the services owed shall be determined exclusively by the respective offer, a service description, an order confirmation or a separate contract, supplemented by these GTC.

(4) Amendments, additions or side agreements require at least text form. This also applies to the cancellation of this form requirement, insofar as legally permissible.

(5) The Contractor is entitled to adjust offers insofar as this is necessary due to changed legal, technical or organisational conditions and is reasonable for the client. Contracts already concluded remain unaffected unless otherwise agreed.

(6) Unless otherwise agreed in an individual case, service deadlines are non-binding planned dates. Fixed dates require an express written agreement.

 

§ 3 Subject Matter of the Contract and Scope of Services

(1) The subject matter of the contract is the provision of consulting, coaching, facilitation, training, organisational development, change, leadership and comparable services for companies and organisations.

(2) The specific scope of services results exclusively from the respective offer, contract or the agreed service description.

(3) All services are provided as services within the meaning of §§ 611 et seq. BGB. A contract for work and services (Werkvertrag) is only concluded if this has been expressly agreed in writing.

(4) The Contractor owes the professional and diligent provision of the agreed services in accordance with recognised professional standards. A specific economic, organisational, strategic or personal success is not owed.

(5) Recommendations, analyses, assessments and proposed actions constitute a basis for decision-making. Responsibility for all entrepreneurial, personnel, economic and organisational decisions and their implementation remains exclusively with the client.

(6) The Contractor is free in the choice of methodology, didactics, approach and models used, provided that the agreed purpose of the contract is not thereby impaired.

(7) The Contractor is entitled to adapt services to changed actual or organisational conditions, provided that this does not result in any material impairment of the client’s legitimate interests.

 

§ 4 Provision of Services

(1) The Contractor provides the agreed services personally or through professionally qualified employees, freelancers or cooperation partners.

(2) The Contractor decides independently on methodology, procedure, sequence and the use of suitable instruments and methods, unless deviating written agreements exist.

(3) The services may be provided in particular on the client’s premises, on the Contractor’s premises, at external venues or using electronic means of communication.

(4) The Contractor is entitled to provide partial services, provided that these are reasonable for the client and the purpose of the contract is not thereby impaired.

(5) The Contractor is entitled to adapt agreed content to changed actual, organisational or legal conditions, insofar as this is necessary for the proper performance of the assignment and the legitimate interests of the client are safeguarded.

(6) The Contractor is free in the organisation of his working hours and, insofar as legally permissible, is not subject to any professional instructions from the client.

(7) Insofar as documents, analyses, presentations or other work results are created in the course of providing the services, these serve exclusively the agreed purpose of the contract.

 

§ 5 Client’s Duties to Cooperate

(1) The client undertakes to provide all acts of cooperation required for the proper performance of the assignment in a timely, complete and cost-free manner.

(2) The client shall provide the Contractor in good time with all information, data, documents, access rights, contact persons and other working materials required for the provision of services, and shall inform the Contractor without delay of any circumstances that may be relevant to the performance of the assignment.

(3) The client warrants the accuracy, completeness and up-to-dateness of the information and documents it provides. An obligation on the part of the Contractor to independently verify this information exists only insofar as this has been expressly agreed in writing.

(4) If the client names contact persons or decision-makers, it shall ensure that these persons are authorised to make or bring about the decisions required for the execution of the project in a timely manner.

(5) Delays, additional expenditure or restrictions on performance resulting from late, incomplete or faulty cooperation by the client shall not be to the detriment of the Contractor. Any additional expenditure arising as a result may be charged separately at the agreed fee rates.

(6) If the Contractor is prevented from providing services due to a lack of cooperation, agreed performance and execution deadlines shall be extended appropriately. Further statutory or contractual claims remain unaffected.

(7) The client is responsible for ensuring that the participants and other parties it names meet the organisational and technical requirements for the performance of the agreed services.

 

§ 6 Appointments, Postponements and Cancellations

(1) Agreed appointments are binding for both contracting parties. Appointments are set by mutual agreement.

(2) Postponements or cancellations of appointments by the client require prior consultation with the Contractor. Unless a deviating arrangement has been made in the respective offer or individual contract, the Contractor is entitled to charge separately for expenses already incurred and reserved service times in the event of short-notice cancellations or postponements.

(3) If an agreed appointment must be postponed or cancelled for reasons for which the Contractor is not responsible, the contracting parties shall promptly agree on a replacement date. Travel and preparation costs already incurred remain unaffected.

(4) Postponements or interruptions of an ongoing project at the request of, or attributable to, the client do not give rise to any claim to a reduction of the agreed remuneration or to an extension of agreed price commitments.

(5) Multi-part training, coaching, development or qualification programmes are commissioned as a single overall service. Upon commencement of the provision of services, the contractually agreed remuneration for the overall programme remains owed in full even if individual appointments, programme parts or modules are cancelled, postponed or not carried out at the request of, or attributable to, the client. This does not apply insofar as the non-performance is attributable exclusively to the Contractor.

(6) Statutory rights of termination as well as rights of withdrawal or termination expressly agreed in the respective individual contract remain unaffected.

 

§ 7 Remuneration and Terms of Payment

(1) Only the fees and remuneration agreed in the respective offer, contract or order confirmation shall apply.

(2) All prices are net prices plus the applicable statutory value added tax.

(3) Unless expressly agreed otherwise, invoices are due for payment without deduction within 30 calendar days of the invoice date.

(4) The Contractor is entitled to invoice partial services rendered as well as agreed instalment payments in accordance with the progress of the project, provided this has been contractually agreed or corresponds to the provision of services.

(5) If the client defaults on payment, the statutory default provisions apply. The assertion of further statutory claims remains unaffected.

(6) Payments shall first be applied to costs, then to interest and finally to the oldest principal claim in each case, unless the client makes a different determination as to application.

(7) A right of retention on account of other claims not arising from the same contractual relationship is excluded, insofar as legally permissible.

 

§ 8 Travel, Accommodation and Incidental Costs

(1) Travel, accommodation and other incidental costs are charged separately unless otherwise agreed in the respective offer or contract.

(2) The basis for calculation is the actual and documented expenses incurred or the flat rates agreed in the respective offer.

(3) Travel times are charged only if this is expressly provided for in the respective offer or a separate agreement.

(4) Unless otherwise agreed in the offer, travel costs are invoiced according to the applicable tax rates or the contractually agreed rates.

(5) If additional travel, rebooking or cancellation costs arise due to subsequent postponements or changes by the client, these shall be borne by the client insofar as it is responsible for the change.

(6) The Contractor is obliged to keep travel and incidental costs economically reasonable and to avoid unnecessary expenditure.

 

§ 9 Confidentiality and Handling of Confidential Information

(1) Both contracting parties undertake to treat as strictly confidential all confidential information, trade and business secrets of the other party that become known to them in connection with the initiation, performance and follow-up of the cooperation.

(2) The obligation under paragraph 1 applies regardless of whether a contract is concluded or performed. It also continues to exist after the end of the cooperation, insofar as statutory disclosure obligations do not conflict.

(3) Insofar as the nature or scope of the cooperation requires a more extensive or separate confidentiality agreement (NDA), the contracting parties shall conclude this by mutual agreement and separately. The rights and obligations arising from such an agreement take precedence over the provisions of this section.

(4) Confidential information may be used exclusively for the purposes of initiating, performing or following up on the respective cooperation. Disclosure to third parties is permitted only insofar as it is necessary for the performance of the contract or a statutory obligation exists.

(5) The client shall ensure that confidential information of the Contractor is made accessible only to those persons who require it to perform their tasks and who are themselves bound to confidentiality.

 

§ 10 Data Protection

(1) The Contractor processes personal data exclusively within the framework of the applicable data protection provisions, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

(2) Personal data is collected, processed and used exclusively insofar as this is necessary for the initiation, performance or termination of the respective contractual relationship or a statutory obligation to do so exists.

(3) Both contracting parties undertake to use personal data exclusively for the contractually agreed purposes and to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect this data.

(4) Insofar as the nature of the cooperation requires the conclusion of an agreement on commissioned processing pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR, the contracting parties shall conclude a separate agreement on this.

(5) Statutory retention, documentation and evidence obligations remain unaffected by the above provisions.

(6) Further information on the processing of personal data can be found in the Contractor’s current privacy policy.

 

§ 11 Copyright, Usage and Protection Rights

(1) All copyright, usage, ancillary copyright and other protection rights in concepts, methods, models, analyses, presentations, workshops, training materials, coaching materials, documentation, sketches, drafts, offers and other work results remain exclusively with the Contractor or the respective rights holders.

(2) The client receives – unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing – a simple, non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sublicensable right of use exclusively for its own internal purposes and exclusively within the scope of the agreed purpose of the contract.

(3) Any reproduction, publication, modification, disclosure to third parties, commercial use or use for the provision of the client’s own consulting, coaching, training or organisational development services is not permitted without the prior written consent of the Contractor.

(4) All concepts, models, procedures, analyses, workshop designs, presentations, sketches or other conceptual work developed or provided in the course of contract initiation, offer preparation, presentation or acquisition remain the exclusive intellectual property of the Contractor even if no contract is concluded. They may not be used, implemented, reproduced, published or made accessible to third parties, in whole or in part, without prior written consent.

(5) The handover or electronic transmission of documents, presentations or concepts does not establish any usage rights beyond those expressly granted.

(6) Statutory copyright and protection rights remain unaffected.

 

§ 12 Recordings, AI Systems and Work Results

(1) Audio, video, image or screen recordings of consultations, coaching sessions, workshops, training, facilitation or other services of the Contractor are permitted only with the Contractor’s prior written consent.

(2) This applies equally to the use of software or systems for the automated transcription, translation, analysis, documentation or other processing of conversation or image content, in particular using artificial intelligence (AI).

(3) Without the prior written consent of the Contractor, content of the service provision may not be recorded, stored, processed, evaluated, used for the training of AI systems or made accessible to third parties, in whole or in part.

(4) Analyses, evaluations, documentation or other work results created by the Contractor in the course of the cooperation may be used exclusively for the contractually agreed purpose. Any further use requires the prior written consent of the Contractor.

(5) Statutorily mandatory documentation or retention obligations of the client remain unaffected.

 

§ 13 Liability

(1) The Contractor is liable without limitation for damages based on intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty, as well as for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health.

(2) In the event of a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract at the time the contract was concluded. Essential contractual obligations are those whose fulfilment is what makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the client may regularly rely.

(3) Otherwise, liability for slightly negligently caused damages is excluded, insofar as legally permissible.

(4) In the event of slight negligence, there is no liability for indirect damages, consequential damages, lost profit, savings not realised or other pure financial losses.

(5) Insofar as liability is excluded or limited, this also applies in favour of the legal representatives, vicarious agents, employees and other persons engaged by the Contractor.

(6) Mandatory statutory liability provisions, in particular under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz), remain unaffected.

 

§ 14 Force Majeure

(1) Neither contracting party is liable for the non-performance or delayed performance of its contractual obligations insofar as these are based on events of force majeure.

(2) Force majeure includes in particular natural events, fire, floods, pandemics, epidemics, official measures, war, terror, labour disputes, power or telecommunications failures and other unforeseeable events beyond the control of the affected contracting party.

(3) The affected contracting party shall inform the other contracting party without delay of the occurrence, expected duration and cessation of the event.

(4) For the duration of the event, the affected performance obligations are suspended. Claims already arisen for remuneration for services rendered up to that point remain unaffected.

(5) If the force majeure event lasts longer than three months and adherence to the contract is no longer reasonable for a contracting party, both contracting parties are entitled to terminate the contract in writing with immediate effect. Further statutory rights remain unaffected.

 

§ 15 Set-off and Rights of Retention

(1) The client is entitled to set-off only with undisputed claims, claims ready for decision or claims established with legal force.

(2) The client may assert a right of retention only insofar as it is based on the same contractual relationship.

(3) The exercise of more extensive rights of set-off or retention remains unaffected, insofar as these are mandatorily prescribed by law.

(4) The assertion of warranty rights does not entitle the client to withhold the Contractor’s due remuneration claims, insofar as the asserted defect does not materially impair the use of the agreed services.

 

§ 16 Non-Solicitation

(1) The client undertakes, during the term of the contract and for a period of twelve months after its termination, not to directly or indirectly solicit or, without the prior written consent of the Contractor, employ or engage any employees, freelancers or cooperation partners of the Contractor engaged in connection with the respective assignment.

(2) The non-solicitation obligation applies regardless of whether contact is made directly or indirectly through third parties.

(3) Hiring or engagement on the basis of a public job advertisement or a general recruitment effort does not constitute solicitation, provided that no targeted approach to the person concerned has taken place.

(4) In the event of a culpable breach, the client undertakes to pay an appropriate contractual penalty. Its amount shall be determined by the Contractor at its reasonable discretion and may, in the event of a dispute, be reviewed by the competent court for its appropriateness. Further claims for damages remain unaffected.

 

§ 17 Final Provisions

(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies exclusively, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

(2) The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the contractual relationship is – insofar as legally permissible – the registered office of the Contractor.

(3) Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by the legally permissible provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the original provision. The same applies to any gaps in the provisions.

(4) These General Terms and Conditions apply in the version incorporated at the time the contract is concluded.

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Provider: Christopher Lesko, Head of Leadership Academy Berlin Alter Finkenkrug 5, D-14612 Falkensee, Germany Phone: +49 172 3802321 Tax no.: 051/244/04578 · VAT ID: DE178813204 www.leadership-academy.de