Page 62 - Security Today, July/August 2022

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Unique Hiring Demands Some corporate boards mandate executive protection to safeguard shareholder interests
By Brian Jantzen
Mitigating risks and threats along with extensive intelligence analysis are at the core of compre- hensive and effective customized executive pro- tection programs. Providing close protection, se- cure travel logistics and related security services for the well-being and productivity of the executive protection client, whenever and wherever necessary, demands executive pro- tection specialists who can build trust, adapt to a wide range of situations and implement human skills and hard skills at the ap- propriate times and places.
BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY
Executive protection is a service that boosts productivity and mitigates the elevated and ever-changing personal risk of individuals due to their prominence, wealth, occupation, reputation, travel destinations, or other factors. Services include secure travel logistics, close personal protection, intelligence analysis and related measures to ensure the productivity and safety of the principal.
In addition to providing peace of mind for prominent indi- viduals and their families, some corporate boards mandate ex- ecutive protection for CEOs and other principals both because
of duty of care and to safeguard shareholder interests which are contingent on the wellbeing and performance of those principals. Enhanced productivity for the principal is more than a by- product of executive protection – it is a goal in itself – and often is the most tangible near and long-term benefit of best-in-class
corporate executive protection programs.
While executive protection professionals cannot eliminate
risk, they are tasked to do everything possible to mitigate it. Risk mitigation begins with understanding the situations that expose principals to danger and then systematically reducing the extent of the principal’s exposure to these situations, and developing contingency procedures for dealing with the effects of breached safety to reduce its impact.
FINDINGHUMANSKILLS
Who is the ideal executive protection specialist? The stereotypical assumption is that people who work in the executive protection sector must have law enforcement or military background. While those backgrounds are certainly embraced, what is harder to find are the ‘human skills’ needed to exceed in this sector which in- clude refined social skills, adaptability and creativity.
The ‘hard skills’ of the job such as driving, firearms proficiency,
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JULY/AUGUST 2022 | SECURITY TODAY
EXECUTIVE PROTECTION