Restless in Riyadh
August 2004
As recent news events have shown, both high-
and low-level employees need to be concerned about their personal safety when
traveling abroad on business. This is not an area where companies can afford
to scrimp. Ensuring adequate executive protection through thorough safety assessments
prior to travel is crucial when sending employees into a particularly unstable
region of the world.
by David
Nicastro
Secure Source,
Inc.
It was 3 a.m. when Bob awoke, surrounded in darkness and drenched in sweat.
Bob was lying on a concrete floor inside a bare, windowless room somewhere in
Riyadh. Bob couldn't remember how long he'd been there. A rope bound his arms
behind his back and a black hood was tightened over his head. He had been brutally
beaten, and his broken ribs were throbbing, but the pain wasn't as bad as the
fear. The captors were holding Bob ransom. Tomorrow, they told him, they were
going to make a videotape recording of his "confession" and they advised him
to think about what he wanted to say to his wife and young child back in his
native Texas. It would be the last time he would speak to them.
The good thing about this situation was that it was only a dream. The bad
thing was Bob was blaming me for having it. I felt a little guilty after I answered
Bob's phone call, but at the same time, I knew his dream was a small blessing.
Even though he lost a little sleep, Bob was already a little safer.
I had been thinking about Bob for a couple weeks, ever since we ran into
each other at a mutual friend's birthday party and he told me he might have
to travel to the Middle East on business. Bob is a salesman at a mid-sized,
North Texas firm that manufacturers gate control mechanisms. His boss had asked
him to travel to Saudi Arabia, and possibly even Baghdad, to negotiate several
proposed deals. Bob is the company's top salesman and his bosses depend on him.
Although the Middle East is beset with violence and political turmoil, it represents
a perfect, new market for the company's products. The company is hoping the
proposed deals will fuel the growth it needs to become a national player.
At the party, my ears perked up when Bob mentioned the trip. Having worked
as a security consultant in Saudi Arabia, I knew about the potential problems
Bob might face there and the basic steps he would have to take to ensure a minimal
level of security. Bob said he had worked out a good travel plan with his boss
and that he was feeling pretty good about the trip. I wasn't so sure. We spent
about a half hour talking about security in the Middle East. I guess I caught
Bob's attention. When he called to chide me for giving him nightmares, he also
asked if we could get together later to talk in more detail about his trip.
Security Issues and Concerns
Bob is in a delicate situation. The proposed deals are a priority for the
company and Bob, too, stands to gain a lot: If he closes the deals, Bob will
make a pile of cash and most certainly land an executive position at the company.
Yet he wonders whether the money and the status are worth the risk. Bob and
his wife have a brand new baby girl at home. You might say Bob is caught between
Iraq and a hard place.
Bob said he is generally willing to take the trip, but he wants assurance
that his company's travel policies are truly adequate. Since the party, he's
started to suspect they aren't. In fact, Bob knows that his company prides itself
on being lean—management considers that part of its competitive advantage over
its larger competitors. Until recently, Bob's bosses have never had to think
about security. To make matters worse, they have a tendency of being reactive
rather than proactive.
Bob isn't alone. Many businesspeople today are weighing the risks of traveling
abroad against the benefits of landing new business opportunities and pleasing
their superiors. But no employees should have to find themselves stuck in Bob's
situation, wondering if their company has truly taken their personal safety
to heart and, more important, dedicated tight company resources to ensuring
their safe return.
Their fears and concerns are not misplaced. For most Americans—average citizens,
parents, and businessmen—the gut-wrenching horror of September 11 has been replaced
by daily reports of foreign workers being kidnapped and publicly executed. Abductions
are not a new tactic, but their occurrence has reached an unprecedented level.
In July the New York Times reported that
Middle Eastern insurgents now use abduction as their primary weapon. Recent
reports of kidnappings have involved civilian employees from Kuwait, Kenya,
India, Egypt, and, of course, the United States.
"It is unclear to what extent, if any, insurgent groups in Iraq are coordinating
the kidnappings of foreigners," the Times reported. "But it is clear that they have grown more clever and adept at using
kidnapping as a tool of intimidation and publicity."
Ensuring Adequate Executive Protection
At the moment, most of the reports of civilian kidnappings are being generated
from Iraq. But as the news reports make clear, terrorist kidnappings have become
a permanent source of concern for personal safety whenever traveling abroad.
As a result, "executive protection" is no longer a set of services tailored
just for the upper-tier executives at Fortune 500 companies. Instead, all companies
that send employees to work or live abroad must now adopt an overall-security
policy that encompasses employee security from the moment they land in country
until they return home to their families.
I felt a lot better about having disrupted Bob's sleep once we met and Bob
explained the steps his company had taken in planning its trip. The company
had hired a driver to meet Bob at the airport and arranged to have Bob stay
at a luxury hotel. Bob said he was especially pleased with the hotel arrangements,
believing them safe because the hotel is owned by a Saudi prince and frequented
by Colin Powell and other dignitaries.
I asked Bob what he knew about the driver and he said he was an elderly Philippine
gentleman, who reportedly speaks good English. I asked him if anyone conducted
a background check on the driver and determined whether he was trained in evasive
driving techniques, emergency medical response skills, and other basic security
skills. Bob didn't know. I also asked Bob whether his company had made any effort
to gather security reports about his hotel. It hadn't, as far as he knew. If
Colin Powel stays there, isn't it safe to assume the level of security there
will be higher than at other hotels? On the contrary, I said, the hotel was
more likely to be targeted for a terrorist act precisely because of its ownership
and its reputation for hosting prominent clientele.
As our meeting went on, the list of problems grew. Outside of hiring a driver,
Bob didn't know if the company had made any in-country contacts, such as hiring
bodyguards and other security personnel. Bob also didn't know if his company
carried kidnap or ransom insurance, though he doubted it since company employees
rarely traveled abroad. In fact, Bob wasn't even sure if the company had a travel
security policy at all. At least, no one from the human resources department
had yet discussed such a policy with him.
The Need for a Security Assessment
Indeed, the company hadn't even completed what people in my industry consider
the first step of a good security plan: A security risk assessment. These assessments
are crucial when traveling into a particularly unstable region, like the Middle
East and many other countries, particularly in South America.
Using information complied from government databases, confidential sources
and, more important, "on-the-ground" contacts in the designated country, these
assessments are informational guides that all travelers need before they venture
into troubled waters. They include detailed information about the current political
situation in the country, including an accounting of specific terrorist threats
and attacks that affect the country as a whole. The reports also contain city-by-city
assessments, which entail specific reports of attacks and other security events,
such as local crime, committed at hotels and company offices, in public parks,
or at other specific locations. It is also important to consider the reputation
of local police and healthcare facilities.
Besides giving employees a guide they can carry with them on their trip,
these assessments evaluate risks based on threat, vulnerability, and the impact
on the business. Typically, risk is assessed as high, medium, or low.
Once an assessment is complete, the next step is to devise a program to mitigate
threats by identifying effective security measures relative to each risk level.
For example, if a country has no specific threats, a stable economy, and no
negative global or regional issues, then a normal security protocol should be
put into effect. In a place like Saudi Arabia, where the threat level is high,
more specific security resources need to be deployed.
In our industry, we have typically generated these kinds of assessments and
the appropriate response plans for top corporate executives and high net worth
individuals. As recent news events have shown, lower-rung employees also deserve
the same investments in their personal safety.
Conclusion
I encouraged Bob to develop a strategy for discussing his concerns with his
boss. In the meantime, I promised to send him a proposal outlining the basic
framework of a good security plan. Although Bob was discouraged by some of the
information I gave him, he came to realize that these types of security measurers
are precautions that have simply become a business necessity. In the end, Bob
left the meeting determined to make the trip and optimistic that that the subject
of conversation will be much brighter when we get together next year to celebrate
our friend's birthday.
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