Executives Need to be Prepared for Corporate Travel... Knowledge is Key to Safety Abroad
American executives traveling throughout the world should count on the expertise of security travel experts and executive protection services to ensure safety.
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 26, 2006 -- American executives traveling throughout the world should now realize their mere presence in some countries can pose dangerous opportunities for groups looking for targets. Intelligence is the key to avoiding any and all potentially dangerous scenarios and one New York-based company spends countless hours analyzing the latest terrorist briefs and intelligence reports from around the world to keep its clients safe.
Knowing the risks and understanding the follow through to make it back safely, is where a security specialist, trained in all levels of intelligence gathering and the execution of security protocols, is vital. On a typical day, a security consultant will assess local and regional intelligence for clients and field agents serving customers around the world.
Depending on the region, even here in the U.S. or another part of the world it is important to always remember an American executive can always be a target. There is a climate in South America for different types of abductions. It is a reality that executives traveling to such places as Columbia and Mexico City regularly face. “In general they will not kill you in Mexico City. A favorite and frightening tactic, however, is to snatch you from the airport and drive you around while taking all the money you have on your person then helping you to empty out ATM machines. After that they just throw you out of the car, wherever, with no money or identification. But executives in other high risk areas such as Columbia, are not going for a short joy-ride, generally these executives carry K & R insurance, kidnapping and ransom. This presents the opportunity to make fast money and lots of it,” states William McGuire, President and CEO of Global Security Associates, LLC. So prevalent is this sort of behavior that an insurance company launched an array of services to meet the growing need in what it calls, “luxury risk mitigation services” for its high-net-worth customers. These services include access to personal security consultants, travel safety experts as well as household employee advisors. In other words: it’s really out there and the threat is real.
Most security consultants will agree; all the work is done before the executive leaves for the airport. Information from various sources both accessible to the public and subscription based services are reviewed. The best approach to take when traveling in these areas is through advance work. Security consultants such as Global Security Associates will ask important questions like, “What has been going on in these countries and what is likely to continue? Where will my client be staying and what has been taking place in that neighborhood or hotel?” GSA will also send a team ahead of the executive to make sure nothing is amiss.
During the Olympic Games, a group of executives who were representing the sponsor companies were present during the games. Prior to the start of the games and their arrival, it was Global’s responsibility to make sure each location was secure, know the political climate at any given moment and have an exit plan should trouble arise, the planning for this took eight months. This required a team of security experts to work with the intelligence gathering capabilities of the U.S. Government, the U.S. Military, the U.S. Consulate and local Italian enforcement agencies. The Olympics present and enticing opportunity for groups being prepared for this is what a good security effort is all about.
About Global Security Associates:
Global Security Associates, LLC, (GSA) is among the world’s leading security firms providing protection for small and large events and/or personal protection to the entertainment, diplomatic, and corporate worlds using U.S. government training protocol. GSA has also been a major security supplier to many government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and international clients at locations in Europe, the Caribbean, North & Central Africa, South Africa, South America, Mexico, Asia and the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
William McGuire, president and CEO of the company, has spent nearly two decades in the commercial aviation security industry and prior to forming Global Security Associates was assistant vice president of Virgin Security Associates in North America, a division of Virgin Atlantic Airways, where he was responsible for the implementation of the International Passenger Profiling Program.
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