Security Resources & Information

Join us for a virtual panel discussion as we explore key considerations that can help an executive protection program provide a good first impression as well as develop a long term plan for success.

ESTABLISHING THE DECISION CRITERIA

We’re often approached by security directors who require protection for someone in their C-suite, but the principal wants nothing to do with executive protection. The reasons for such resistance can be many but typically fall into four categories: preconceived, negative notions of intrusive protection; previous bad experiences with EP; a conviction that EP is unnecessary for them; and a belief that it’s too expensive and not worth the cost.

Smooth travel logistics is one of the key building blocks of good executive protection. It enables principals to concentrate on the business rather than on the details of getting from A to B. It lets executives pack more meetings and more places into less time. And it always puts productivity front and center without ever compromising security.

While the logistical benefits of executive protection are clear even during a routine commute from home to the office, they become even more apparent on trips to emerging markets. In many of these countries, traffic accidents are still a major cause of death and injury, so the elevated risks of the road are one reason to leave the driving to specially trained and vetted professionals. But security knowhow, local knowledge and networks, and cultural and linguistic fluency also combine to facilitate trips to emerging markets in other ways, too.

Fortunately, one of the key outcomes of effective security is altogether unspectacular: nothing happened to the principal, again. Yes, flawless logistics and carefully planned procedures always allow the client to maintain top-notch productivity. But precisely because the protection program works as it should, and the principal is kept far from potential threats, the days and weeks can appear uneventful from a security point of view. This, in turn, can lead to complacency, one of the most serious problems of any security team.

As an international executive protection company, we go where our clients need to go – and do what it takes to keep them safe, happy and productive. We normally work on either a project basis or through embedded programs in which we place executive protection agents/managers and intelligence analysts within the client organization. But sometimes the client’s needs are so wide-ranging that other solutions are required.

Our executive protection services depend on up-to-date information to stay abreast of emerging risks to our principals wherever they might travel. So, it’s no wonder we rely on many sources – including our broad network of on the ground eyes, ears and minds – to predict, prevent and mitigate threats to our principals. Indeed, our most comprehensive EP programs have dedicated intelligence analysts as part of the team.

We provide secure travel logistics for our clients so they can maintain their productivity and well-being wherever their interests take them. While our managers and agents always train and prepare for the worst, in normal circumstances good planning and procedures allow us to provide our principals with seamless transportation and security that they hardly notice as they move about their day.

For our principals, the so-called work/life balance is different than many people. They work a lot, some would say constantly. They have a profound sense of purpose and truly enjoy what they do, so the distinctions between “business and pleasure” are seldom black and white. The incredible productivity of our principals depends not only on good planning or isolated stretches of downtime, but also on an ability to combine days on end of hectic business activity with the capacity to smell the roses along the way. As this case illustrates, good international EP facilitates all of this.

At Allied Universal® Executive Protection & Intelligence Services, helping our clients getting from A to B is something we put a lot of effort into.

Keeping them safe as they move around the country and the world is our first priority, of course. But smooth travel logistics does more than that. It allows our principals to make the most of their time wherever they go. By keeping their focus on running their business rather than running around looking for taxis, hotels and the next meeting, they get more done even when they are on the road.

Ultimately, our goal is to replace the burden of travel with an experience that keeps them safe, productive – and even happy – when moving from A to B and beyond.

We help clients with emergency evacuations practically every year, and 2014 was no exception.

We regularly work with high net worth individuals, families and their offices. In many ways, the EP and security needs of these prominent families are similar to those of corporations. After all, these high net worth individuals are often founders of highly successful companies, and in that sense share many characteristics with the C-suite principals for whom we typically provide EP.

Knowing exactly where key employees are is a cornerstone of ensuring their security. Whether in proactive planning or in solving emergency situations, the principal’s location is a critical starting point for all EP activities.

Our globalized economy adds some complexity to the issue of location. Executives are traveling to ever more distant destinations. Expats are stationed in emerging markets where infrastructure and governments are more fragile than at home. And while companies have a duty of care to keep their execs safe, no one wants to invade their privacy in doing so.

No matter how much forward thinking a company does, we are all sometimes surprised by a sudden turn of events. It may be a competitor making a surprise move, civil unrest that balloons into a sweeping socio-political upheaval, or something as simple as a key employee getting in a car accident. In 2014, a hostile group announced its intentions to harm the staff and interests of a major corporation thousands of miles away.

Executive protection and event security are two core things Allied Universal® Executive Protection & Intelligence Services offer. Rapid response, smooth travel logistics and international expertise are another three core services that our clients rely on. On most days, we’re delivering some combination of these five elements above somewhere in the world. Last year, we delivered all of them and more in an intensive three-week international roadshow that launched the world’s biggest ever IPO.

Many companies routinely need to send staff abroad for periods of regular, short-term stays. The travelers can be anyone from managers setting up a subsidiary to technicians installing new production equipment. These “global commuters” are often based in a foreign country for a week or two, then home for a while, then back on the road. When such travel regularly takes employees to developing countries where the security situation can be turbulent, questions of duty of care arise even though the stays are temporary.

Hurricane Odile was the most powerful storm ever to hit Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. When she swept across the Cabo San Lucas resort area in September, 2014, Odile packed winds of up to 125 mph (200 km/hr.) and dumped more than 12 inches (320 mm) of rain.

We have provided safe travel and other services for a number of philanthropic organizations over the years. In terms of objectives, these projects are quite similar to any other EP program we deliver: Our goal is to keep the principals and others in their entourages safe, happy and productive wherever their travels take them.

We talk to a number of companies, large and small, about executive protection programs every week. Sometimes, the conversation starts something like this: “Executive protection? Yeah, we tried that a few times, but it didn’t really work out for us, so we gave up the program.”

At times, the conversation ends there. There are other times when this makes for the beginning of a great dialogue.

Providing effective protective security without wrapping the client within a claustrophobic bubble is inherently difficult. You need to be prepared for anything and everything – usually with little to no warning – and at the same time enable clients to get on with their lives without feeling encumbered by ever-present protection teams.

A cornerstone of the Allied Universal® Executive Protection & Intelligence Services approach is our ongoing dedication to adapting our services to the client’s personal preferences and corporate culture. Flexibility is key, but so is unswerving devotion to risk mitigation. Balancing these competing demands is what keeps our clients safe without being inconvenienced.