[Easemakers Podcast E58] Protecting the world’s most prominent individuals: what’s changed and what hasn’t in Gavin de Becker’s 40+ year history
How has protecting the world's most prominent families and individuals changed over the last 50 years — and what's stayed the same? Gavin de Becker & Associates Senior Vice President of Threat Assessment and Management Bryan Niederhelm digs into what's new and what remains core to executive protection in this episode of the Easemakers Podcast.
As the Senior Vice President of Threat Assessment and Management for Gavin de Becker & Associates (GDBA), Bryan Niederhelm has spent the last two decades helping to protect the world’s most prominent families and individuals, covering everything from public appearances and massive events to home protection and cybersecurity.
The firm protects several thousand clients, including more than 80 of the world’s most prominent families and at-risk individuals. It was founded in 1978 by Gavin de Becker, the leading expert on the protection of public figures, known for his work assisting the United States Secret Service in the development of its guide for Protective Intelligence and Threat Assessment Investigations and designing MOSAIC Threat Assessment Systems, used by the US Marshal Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Reserve Board, Capitol Police, Supreme Court Police, Los Angeles County Law Enforcement Agencies, and more. Throughout his storied career, he has protected billionaires (Jeff Bezos), celebrities (Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, John Travolta, Cher), and presidents (Ronald Reagan). Gavin de Becker is also the author of several bestsellers on the prevention of violence, including The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, Protecting The Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe, Just 2 Seconds: Using Time and Space to Defeat Assassins, and Fear Less: Real Truth About Risk, Safety, and Security in a Time of Terrorism.
In this episode of the Easemakers Podcast, Bryan explores how protecting public figures has changed — and how it hasn’t — in the firm’s 46 year history.
Tune in to hear Bryan’s insights on improving personal safety, including:
- New threats facing principals today, from simple social media mistakes to creative bad actors
- Advice for estate managers and private service professionals who want to help their principals and their teams make better decisions (plus resources like this Master Class on personal safety)
- Why bringing in the right people — and making quick decisions to remove the wrong people — is key to keeping everyone safe
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Catch up on past episodes of the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts to get notified about future episodes. Follow along with @easemakers on social media, and of course, be sure to join the conversation in the Easemakers community after you listen!
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