5 Security Tips to Keep Top Execs Safe at Meetings

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel where he was about to attend a meeting drew worldwide attention to the importance of security for top executives.

By law, hotels must also take reasonable steps to identify and mitigate potential risks, provide adequate security, and respond promptly to any incidents that may occur.

However, many planners don’t realize that, in addition to the venue, they can be held legally responsible. Planners can be liable if they do not conduct a proper risk assessment to identify potential dangers, fail to inform attendees of potential threats, or fail to  communicate emergency procedures.

“Companies are reassessing how they protect leadership,” said Wendy Porter, founder of Wendy Porter Events, who has spent decades planning events for Fortune 500 companies. “For planners, this means a new layer of responsibility: balancing the need for security with the visibility and accessibility leaders value.

“It’s a difficult but necessary conversation as we adapt to this new reality.”

Here are 5 must-do’s to keep your top executives and VIPs safe:

1. Start risk management planning early.

“Each venue is different, and requires its own specific strategy and roadmap, which can be complex,” said Ty Richmond, president of Allied Universal’s event services division. “This requires extensive coordination, communication and advance planning.

2. Create a security task force.

This should include the venue’s facility management and event management teams, as well as the CEO’s security team (if there is one). The group should devise best practices for a wide range of emergency scenarios, hold regular status calls and take part in site visits. Be sure to bring local law enforcement into the loop as well.

3. Map out the venue.

Create detailed assessments of venue access points, transit routes and backup plans. 

4. Hire police protection when necessary.

One planner for a pharmaceutical company with its own internal security detail said she recently added a police officer on site for an upcoming meeting. She also suggested using back entrances and hallways, with escorts to the meeting space, to keep VIPs away from the public.

5. Consider adding screening at the entrance.

Where a photo ID or badge entry might have been enough in the past, planners can coordinate with the venue to add video surveillance, or even metal detectors.The goal is to not make it feel like a police state, but to make sure that anyone who might attempt to disrupt the event will be deterred by the level of security.