December 2008

Andrews International 3rd Quarter Growth and New Hires

Andrews International gained more than $10 million in new organic growth revenue in the third quarter 2008, with awards of national contracts in the industrial/manufacturing and high-tech sectors adding to more than $50 million in revenue growth in 2008. Andrews International recently partnered with investment firm Audax Group to garner additional investment in the development of new markets and services and to support and manage the company’s significant growth.

As a part of the next phase of growth and evolution for Andrews International, a new internal leadership organization and accountability structure has been developed, establishing a national platform with ten regions led by executives reporting to the company’s COO. These ten regional operations provide local infrastructure and ongoing support of vertical market sectors and national accounts.

The company recently hired Carlos Galvez, CPP to lead its recently established Northern California Region. As vice president, Galvez has oversight of business development and operations in Northern California, including offices in Santa Clara and San Francisco. His corporate security experience in the technology sector, with companies such as Adobe and Juniper Networks, adds value to Andrews International’s growing customer base in Silicon Valley. Galvez reports directly to Ty Richmond, Chief Operating Officer.

Also new to AI’s Consulting and Investigations (C&I) Division is Chris Meisenhalder, recently hired as executive director. Based in Andrews International’s Southwest Region office in Houston, Texas; Meisenhalder reports to Ray O’Hara, Senior Vice President, C&I Division. Her responsibilities include overall leadership and strategic delivery for the business development and service activities of the Andrews International consulting and investigations (C&I) practice. Meisenhalder brings significant experience in the corporate security environment and Latin America relations (previously working for Hewlett Packard), utilizing her skills as a tri-linguist, as well as several years of experience in the retail industry in the field of assets protection management.

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Safety ACT Certification

Andrews International has been recently certified under the "Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology (SAFETY) Act” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The SAFETY Act provides legal liability protections for providers of Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies – whether they are products or services. AI’s Certification under the SAFETY Act means that we are a qualified anti-terrorism service and thereby protected from claims against AI arising out of acts of terrorism at any of the shopping centers that we provide service. This decreased liability exposure also extends to AI’s customers, should an act of terrorism occur at their shopping center.  The SAFETY Act Certification compliments Andrew International’s anti-terrorism training and involvement in shopping center terrorism awareness, to add another level of support to shopping center clients’ security programs.

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Personal/Executive Protection

Many companies support the notion that employees are their most valuable assets, but few have actually had to calculate the actual costs associated with protection failures. Recent focus regarding the protection of executives has shifted from protection to risk management, including access to alerts and real-time information resources, threat assessments, contingency planning, travel tracking and evacuation programs and insurance to minimize financial loss and corporate exposure. The threats facing executives vary widely depending on individual and corporate wealth, company size, industry and business practices, operational environments, and culture and business partners. The most frequently targeted executives are financial/banking services, pharmaceuticals and energy, especially executives based overseas. The risks range from kidnapping for ransom or extortion, carjacking, explosives and eco-terrorism.

The range of threats and the associated risks pertaining to mobility, health and family safety result in very different challenges than protecting a facility. Providing adequate protection that serves the company’s business interests, yet respects individual freedoms is often a major challenge to corporations. Four principles to guide successful protective operations and help mitigate these challenges are:

• threat assessment
• advance planning
• logistics, and
• emergency response

Threat assessment – Conduct a thorough threat assessment including research and operational activities to identify, assess, and manage environmental and specific risks, such as those associated with business practices, affiliations and partners, countries of operation, corporate and individual media exposure, controversial products or services, political or social unrest, cultural issues and individual or corporate wealth or perceived wealth.

In addition to these threats, also consider specific threat patterns of potential attackers. A recent U.S. Secret Service study on the behavior of known assailants revealed an interesting contradiction; those issuing threats typically do not attack, while attackers often do not issue threats. While you cannot ignore specific threats, the most serious threats are unlikely to be announced.

Today, special attention must be placed on kidnapping and terrorism. In many instances, these attacks may have little to do with the individual and more to do with what the victim represents, i.e., money, attention or access.

Advance planning - Advance planning requires research and travel to identify variables and contingencies to develop protective solutions. Begin with a comprehensive advance-planning process that addresses itinerary, location and transportation, including "what-where-when". The advance planning should be divided into three phases:

• Phase 1 - Pre-advance - initial planning to identify the scope and objectives of the project, dates and timing, locations, key personnel and special requirements.

• Phase 2 - Trip advance - finalize arrangements including contacting key participants such as hotel managers and transportation while prioritizing key aspects of the project.

• Phase 3 - Site advance - physically visit each scheduled destination to finalize logistics and contingencies for each element of the itinerary. Identify specific risks and challenges associated with routes, entrances, exits and other factors, as well as surveying each location, including hotels, airports, meeting rooms, corporate offices, and outdoor venues.

Logistics - Solid logistical planning dictates that you thoroughly understand requirements, where and when you need them, and the most efficient process to maximize the use of personnel, vehicles, and equipment. You should incorporate logistics that cover:

• Information infrastructure – the ability and flow of effective communications relies heavily on technology and protocols established for transmission, receipt, processing and exchange of information with the protection team, executives, corporate contacts, vendors, suppliers, and third-party practitioners.

• Strong integration – success requires complete operational integration with agents, vendors, suppliers, and others to support protection by identifying roles and responsibilities and ensuring the resources, authority and accountability necessary for success.

Emergency response – Despite thorough threat assessments and advance planning, security must be prepared to respond. This requires consistent, realistic training focused on the most common occurrences, such as medical emergencies, as well as rare attacks.

Effective risk management and protection requires balancing business and security objectives, personal freedoms and threats, and planning and response. Professionals should be prepared to protect and react in normal and emergency situations by ensuring that proactive threat assessments, planning, and logistics have been properly handled, and by identifying and planning for every possible contingency to avoid threats and reduce risk.

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Governor Schwarzenegger Appointment of Andrews' Cantrell to CA Disciplinary Review Committee

Early this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of Michael Cantrell, Vice President of Entertainment Operations for Andrews International, to the Private Security Disciplinary Review Committee (South). The appointment was based on Cantrell’s more than 30 years in public law enforcement and private security, including serving as director of special operations for the Central Bureau of Investigations in Los Angeles and as a police officer for the Culver City Police Department. Cantrell also has experience as vice president of corporate security and fire & life safety for Sony Pictures Entertainment and manager of physical security services for TRW Space and Defense which is now known as Northrup Gruman.

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