I just came back with some of Global Elite Group’s security executives after visiting three countries in the Middle East in 14 days. I can speak for all of us; we had a very informative and successful visit. Had the opportunity to attend the World Petroleum Congress, in Doha, Qatar the beginning of December and then onto Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We spent time visiting with our clients while also having the opportunity to meet new customers to address the instability in the region and how it impacts each company’s operations. This topic monopolized much of the conversation at the World Petroleum Congress. With the instability in Iran and the influence of Syria, companies doing business in the region have reason to be concerned. At our command and information centers throughout the Middle East, Global Elite Group is monitoring all channels of information to strategize safety measures for clients.  We use open and closed private sources of information to accomplish this—the political climate demands this level of information gathering. To share with you, who haven’t been in the region working like we have, security needs can change hourly. Our clients doing business here include government representatives and executives from the energy and transportation sectors so concerns can range from personal protection to emergency contingency planning. Having spent a large portion of my career in both personal protection and business contingency planning, these concerns are very real and change quickly. Being able to shift resources and manpower at will is part of our strategic planning.

Other recent activity includes the rise in crime at the hands of airline employees. While this is not a new phenomenon, it is alarming on many levels because it is increasing and we, meaning security professionals, have the ability to address this. This is our expertise. From stealing goods from passenger luggage to smuggling drugs, a better job could be done, affordably. Global Elite Group has programs to address every aspect including surveillance programs to sting operations.

I recently shared with you some of the new professionals that joined Global Elite Group; well, our VIP Screening and Sports Team Security Management programs managed by some of our new executives are receiving testimonials by very satisfied customers. I just ran into Bryan Davis, Director of Sales and Marketing for our company, in the hallway, who had just spoke with a new client who wanted to pass along that our company’s agents are professional, well dressed and get the job done. I also want to add that this is no accident our agents go through stringent training and also have law enforcement backgrounds. It is a level of professionalism I stand behind.

I am also looking forward to announcing additional locations opening in the states. Once the details are solidified I will report on the information here.

To meet the growing needs of specialized security services throughout the U.S.  and abroad, I am very pleased to announce recent appointments in key strategic growth areas of the company in air cargo, emergency response deployment, sports and entertainment protection. In order to fulfill this goal experts in these areas have joined the company in recent months; Gary Cerra is now serving as Vice President of Field Services and Business Development. Gary comes to Global with over 20-years of airline, airport and government security expertise; Bryan Davis joins Global as the Director of Sales and Marketing in-charge of Global’s event, corporate screening and personal protection programs in the sports and entertainment industries. Bryan has managed large-scale events and security operations with the New York Islanders NHL hockey team as well as other high visibility sports, entertainment and corporate promotions productions; and Joseph D’Ascoli is now in charge of Special Operations as Deputy Director. Joseph has a long security management history in telecommunications, electronic security and emergency response management.  

During the fall it was hard not to miss a news report that didn’t focus on the uprising on Wall Street dubbed “Occupy Wall Street.” We had many concerned clients located in the area who were all possible targets of this months-long protest. Working alongside law enforcement and guiding our clients on the best approach in handling their security concerns, I am happy to report our mission here was very successful.  This movement changed the way law enforcement responds to crowd control. Crowd control security should never be approached with a one-size fits all approach, every crowd is different and every group has a message to get across. Understanding what motivates a particular crowd gathering takes research into understanding the message and what the potential methods each group might use to convey this message. Unpredictable outcomes are always possible, but being on the ground, mixing with the crowd and having professionals skilled in this area will increase odds and deliver desired outcomes. In addition to our work on Wall Street, we also had a very large event to manage during this same time, uptown, covering three different locations simultaneously.

At Global Elite, every component of security planning is done so with one goal in mind—a successful outcome.

-William McGuire, President & CEO, Global Elite Group Inc. Garden City, N.Y.