Michael Evanoff is the chief security officer and strategic advisor at Verkada, a leader in cloud-based physical security solutions.
In June of 2025, the mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, was jolted awake by her cat at 3 a.m., only to spot a pickup truck idling outside her home with headlights blazing. Days earlier, a gunman had shot two Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses at their residences as news of a “hit list” was being reported.
Many leaders grapple with this concern about safety. And today’s escalating threat landscape affects leaders across all sectors, not just the Fortune 500. Modern threats follow executives and leaders everywhere, from corporate headquarters to suburban driveways, from business districts to hotel rooms.
The misconception that robust executive protection is exclusively for multinational corporations has left countless leaders vulnerable. Mid-sized companies and emerging market leaders often assume they’re below the threat radar. This false sense of security creates opportunities for threat actors who may not distinguish between billion-dollar enterprises and regional businesses or government leaders.
Proactive Security In A High-Visibility World
The traditional approach to executive security—waiting until a specific threat materializes—is no longer viable. Modern threat actors range from disgruntled employees and activist groups to foreign adversaries conducting espionage operations. The convergence of social media exposure, publicly available personal information and sophisticated targeting techniques has created an unprecedented risk environment.
In today’s world, where CEOs and other leaders are highly visible both publicly and within their industries, ensuring their protection and safety is more important than ever. Leadership is not only relied upon by internal stakeholders but also by public shareholders, business partners and the broader market. When leadership is compromised, shareholder value can decrease, operational continuity fractures and competitive positioning suffers.
Executive protection represents a critical paradigm shift from viewing security as a luxury to recognizing it as a business continuity imperative. Organizations of any size can take practical steps to build effective programs using accessible tools, proven frameworks and the right technology.
Foundational Elements: Assessment Before Action
Building an effective executive protection program requires a methodical approach that begins with a comprehensive threat assessment. This assessment process encompasses three critical components:
1. Public Profile Analysis: Conducting a thorough digital footprint review to identify exposed personally identifiable information, social media vulnerabilities and publicly available details about the executive’s lifestyle, residence and family. The goal is to understand what threat actors can easily access and weaponize.
2. Baseline Threat Assessment: Evaluating the range of potential threat actors and assessing the specific risks they pose based on the executive’s profile and company operations.
3. Pattern Of Life Analysis: Understanding daily routines, travel patterns and predictable behaviors is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities that require immediate attention. Simple schedule variations can dramatically reduce risk.
Immediate Action Steps: Quick Wins For Enhanced Security
Organizations don’t need to wait for comprehensive programs to implement meaningful security improvements. Several immediate measures can significantly enhance executive protection:
Information Sanitization
Information sanitization involves scrubbing publicly available information from public databases, social media platforms and data broker sites. This includes addresses, family information and lifestyle details that could enable targeting or “swatting” incidents.
Family Education
Spouses and children often inadvertently expose security vulnerabilities through social media posts showing real-time locations, travel details or family activities. Age-appropriate security awareness training for family members is crucial, encompassing a range of topics from social media practices to emergency procedures.
Technology Integration
Modern technology offers force-multiplying capabilities for resource-constrained programs. AI-enabled cameras can detect trespassing, facial recognition can flag persons of interest, license plate readers can track suspicious vehicles and integrated communication platforms can rapidly share threat information with law enforcement.
Even implementing one or two of these steps can dramatically increase resilience and help organizations build momentum toward a full-scale program.
The Human Factor: Building Support Networks
The most sophisticated security technology fails without human buy-in at every level, including the protectee.
Executive Leadership
The protected individual must understand that security measures serve broader organizational interests beyond personal protection. Education about threat landscapes and security benefits—including operational efficiency gains—helps build acceptance.
Board-Level Support
Many contemporary executive protection programs originate from board mandates rather than executive requests. Board members are increasingly recognizing that leadership continuity has a direct impact on shareholder value and organizational stability.
Family Integration
Spouse and family support often prove decisive in program success. Security teams that invest in relationship building with family members can create sustainable, long-term protection frameworks.
Strategic Partnerships: Leveraging External Resources
Resource constraints shouldn’t derail protection programs, especially when organizations can strategically leverage external partnerships and relationships. For example, as competitors often share similar threat profiles, industry collaboration and information sharing can be mutually beneficial.
Establishing relationships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies before emergencies occur can also provide crucial support infrastructure. These partnerships can offer both intelligence-sharing opportunities and rapid-response capabilities when threats materialize.
Security platforms are another key element. Even organizations with limited budgets can consider trial periods designed to test solutions. This can help provide confidence in performance and fit before a significant investment is made. Scalable platforms also allow security programs to start small and expand over time, enabling resource-constrained organizations to grow their platform gradually.
The Path Forward: Building Resilient Organizations
Building an executive protection program from the ground up requires a systematic assessment, immediate risk mitigation, stakeholder engagement and strategic allocation of resources. Crucially, this is achievable.
Organizations don’t need unlimited resources. By starting small, layering in the right tools and steadily expanding, any business can create a protection program that safeguards leadership and strengthens the entire enterprise.
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