The Six Things You Need to Know About Executive Protection

Protecting executives and upper management requires risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis and old-fashioned legwork.

When an executive deviates from his routine in order to travel, the protection professional needs to be in a position to prevent a dangerous encounter rather than simply respond to it, says Koerner. Before attending an event, the protection professional should examine the principal's travel logistics and create a contingency plan for every conceivable possibility. Without this kind of preparation, protection professionals could find themselves frozen by the onset of a medical situation or attack. "You know you have done a really good advance job if you are able to answer all the questions [about an event] that are asked of you," says Koerner. It's also easy to tell the protection professionals who have not done their homework. They're the ones who are constantly standing within a foot of their principals. "By not having done the proper advance work, the untrained professional ends up smothering the CEO and destroying his credibility," says Heintze.

Advance work is also more than preventing a planned attack. "A lot of times you don't have to worry so much about kidnapping as you do regular criminal activity, car accidents and serious illness," says Mark Cheviron, corporate vice president, corporate security and services of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). If an executive has a history of heart problems, facilitating a prompt EMT response might be the top priority for ensuring his health and safety. At ADM, corporate offices and planes are all equipped with defibrillators, and the company keeps track of critical health information—such as allergies and blood typeabout its executives. When Caspi worked security for President Clinton's visit to the Israeli embassy in Washington, he recalls one of the biggest concerns was that Clinton not trip on steep stairs.

Joe Russo spent the last 18 months of his Secret Service career heading up the security detail for former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton's postpresidential schedule had him visiting approximately 54 countries during that time. Without the phalanx of security that accompanies a sitting president, Russo's advance work was critical.

For every Clinton event at home or abroad, Russo looked at the geographic location and purpose of the former president's visit. Russo and the Secret Service's Clinton Protective Division sent out security personnel in advance to lock down all the details of the president's visit and hammered out a tight schedule that left little room for the unexpected. With Clinton, that was a particular challenge because "he would still attract crowds of thousands, most of whom had good intentions," says Russo. "People wanted to touch him, grab him and hug him, and with fewer resources [than when he was in office] and unscreened crowds, that meant less control." In those situations, Russo had to be extra vigilant about his advance work, directing the advance team to ensure that 10-foot buffer zones between Clinton and the crowd were preserved and that all pathways to vehicles and emergency exits were kept clear. In many countries, Russo worked closely with local law enforcement to beef up his security team, but that did not always run smoothly. At one event in Israel, the Israeli police officers tasked with maintaining a clear path to Clinton's vehicle actually blocked his exit because they were all crowding in to try to shake his hand. This kind of incident occurred in several countries.