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Elijah Shaw Interview: Celebrity Bodyguard+

As Hollywood gears up for the Academy Awards, Elijah Shaw tells what he's learned from protecting CEOs and supermodels alike.

rity’s life a little more convenient so they can focus on their jobs. At the end of the day, both groups are just trying to make a living, and we’re trying to make it safer and easier for them to do that.

CSO: What are some tactics you use with both groups?

Elijah Shaw Shaw: Celebrity protection involves a lot of planning and working with their itinerary. The security is more overt in the sense that we, in part, help feed into their image. Everything is more covert on the corporate side. The security is designed to blend in. If we’re providing security at a business engagement, we’ll try to look like we are part of the meeting, perhaps posing as an assistant. Executive itineraries are not typically published, so the schedule we work with is not quite as broadcast.

CSO: There seems to be an increase in the desire for executive protection these days. Is that because there are more executives in the spotlight, or because their jobs are more dangerous?

Shaw: It’s a combination of both. It’s definitely true that more high-profile celebrity type executives are emerging. High-level executives are engaging more and more outside of the business world as they assist their brands with their image. Executive like Bill Gates become brands within themselves. As they become more popular and more recognizable, the security threats increase. That means we have to apply some of the security measures we would apply to a celebrity client, in addition to the traditional corporate security risks.

CSO: What are some of the misconceptions or misrepresentations associated with your job?

Shaw: There is a misconception that a bodyguard is a big bruiser, a glorified bouncer or an ex-football player. I think that’s changing slowly, as a level of professionalism creeps into the industry, but it’s a hard stigma to break.

CSO: What can clients do to make your job easier?

Shaw: People intending to do harm will look for patterns and create their plans to do harm around it. So executives shouldn’t fall into a set pattern of predictability: Don’t get a cup of coffee at the same time, don’t always take the same route to and from work or eat at the same restaurant on a Friday night. They also need to make sure they have a good understanding of the associates they have around them. They need to conduct due diligence on those who are very