Executive Protection Security Case Study - Why Use Executive Protection?
Protecting high-level managers and executives from threats
Case Study - Executive Protection
Executives are
symbols of the strength, power, and wealth of modern corporations. Friend
and foe alike identify them with the organizations they represent, making
them convenient targets for all who stand to gain from their exploitation.
Executives and high net-work individuals face risks on a daily basis.
The Risk
KidnappingsWhat if one of your top-level managers was kidnapped
tomorrow and never seen again? What would happen to your organization? Do
you have a preventative program in place? Is your CEO or other key players
in your organization secure?
ThreatsThreats against "Wall
Street/financial executives", public animosity from the '99%', perceived
'wrong' from the 'average' person being 'ripped off' by the 'Fat Cat'
wealthy. Witness the recent demonstrations and sit-ins throughout principle
cities in the U.S. and Europe.
AttacksAttacks on
executive residences: Sir Fred Goodwin, Royal Bank of Scotland Chief
Executive, had his Edinburgh, Scotland, home and Mercedes car vandalized. He
moved his children from their school due to fears for their safety.
It's not just Mexico City, the Middle East, and other high-profile areas
where executives and high net-worth individuals are at risk. It's wherever
you are!
The Threats
Today's corporate executives face four separate threats:
1).
Terrorism: as the corporate world continues to shrink and the executive role
continues to expand, terrorists view executives as a means to economic or
political gain.
2). Criminal or Random Attack: generally economically
motivated. The types of crimes committed are usually kidnapping, extortion,
or robbery.
3). Random injury: executives have a greater chance of
being hurt or killed in an accident than by any criminal act. An executive
injured or killed in an automobile or industrial accident is no less a loss
to his or her corporation than one killed by terrorists or kidnappers.
Therefore, general executive safety must be a priority for the organization.
4). Media: increased public exposure makes executives and their families
much more visible targets. The wealth of available information makes
building a "target portfolio" much easier for the potential attacker.
CASE 1
Sidney Reso
In the early morning hours of April 19, 1992, Sidney Reso, a 57-year old
president of Exxon International and husband and father of five, was
kidnapped from his New Jersey home as he walked to the end of the driveway
to get his newspaper. The husband and wife captors blindfolded, handcuffed,
gagged, and tied Reso down before demanding $18.5 million in ransom. Reso
was shot in the arm during a struggle and died days later while hidden in a
box. The captors buried his remains in a state park.
Of note: the
captors monitored Reso's routine and "selected" him over other executives
because of his predictable routine.
CASE 2Edward LampertLampert, the current
chairman of Sears Roebuck, was kidnapped in 2003 and set free after two days
in captivity. The billionaire executive was snatched from his office's
underground parking garage by four armed men, who pulled a thick hood over
his head, shoved him into an SUV, and sped off. An hour later Lampert was
sitting on a toilet in a motel bathroom, blindfolded, his hands and feet
bound by handcuffs. His abductors told him that they had been hired to kill
him. "One thing I was sure of was that I had to tell the truth because they
knew everything about me," Lampert recalled. "They knew where I lived, how
much I had paid for my house, who worked at my office, how much I was worth.
If I bullshitted them, they'd know it." He sat in that bathroom for 39
hours, waiting. They gave him water and one meal.
When they removed
his blindfold so that he could eat, he kept his eyes down, even though they
had masks on. "I was respectful," he says. They'd taken his wallet away, but
allowed him to hold a passport photo of his 5-month-old son that he'd wedged
into his billfold. When they demanded that he record a message to his wife,
he complied. "I was in God's hands," he says. It was later reported that
Lampert talked his kidnappers into believing that he would deliver $5
million to them if they let him go.
CASE 3Companies do not have to be the direct target of an
extremist group. "Guilt by association" is the mantra for some of these
groups. Witness the animal rights group SHAC (Stop Huntingdon Animal
Cruelty). (Huntingdon Life Sciences is a UK-based laboratory that tests
products on animals. SHAC targeted the following:
- The owners of the facility
- The employees
- The owners and employees' children at school
- Their homes
- The insurance company, Marsh Inc., that insured the facility
- The insurance company's management team, their homes and their children
Several other companies, including Citibank, Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Deloitte & Touche,
stopped doing business with HLS after enduring sustained pressure by SHAC
activists. The group's success seems to have emboldened its members, leading
to an increasing level of violence and threats.
CASE 4Alan Butts, a bank
manager living in the San Fernando Valley, was confronted by a kidnapper
while on his way to work. The kidnapper forced his way into Butts' home,
where he foisted ominous-looking packages upon the victim, his wife and
children. He then told Butts to go to the bank and bring back a briefcase
full of cash, or he and his family would be blown up by the bombs that he
claimed were stored inside the boxes. The kidnapper subsequently panicked
and fled the house. The incident ended eight hours later, and the family
escaped serious personal injury. However, the mental trauma will live on.
How SSG Security Group will keep you, your
family and your business
safe
- Carry out a risk assessment of your organization's key (at-risk) personnel
- Deliver a written report with recommendations for enhancing security measures for those personnel
- Provide Executive Protection teams or individuals from among the most experienced and highly-qualified EP Agents in the business
- Secure residences and offices, both physically (agents and alarm systems) as well as electronically (electronic sweeps to prevent eavesdropping, intelligence-gathering)
- React 24/7 to crises using our Operations Room
- Accompany your staff on travel to unfamiliar areas and hostile environments
Call 1-888-997-3434 to get help with your Executive Protection Security needs today.