The executive protection industry faces a professionalization challenge. Following the December 2024 UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination, direct threats against Fortune 500 executives increased 41% in five weeks while median CEO security expenses doubled. Yet many protection programs still operate without the structured governance that defines professional service delivery in every other corporate function.
We can do better. Our clients deserve better. The industry demands better.
The Competency Gap
Walk into most Fortune 500 companies and you’ll find mature quality management systems in operations, finance, HR, and IT. These functions maintain documented procedures, measure performance consistently, and improve systematically. They can demonstrate value, justify budgets, and withstand audits.
Now look at many executive protection programs. We see talented agents working hard, but often without documented standards, measurable outcomes, or continuous improvement processes. When stakeholders ask basic questions like “How do you measure effectiveness?” or “What’s your process for capability development?” the answers are inconsistent or absent entirely.
This isn’t about individual competence. Our industry has exceptional operators with deep expertise. The gap exists at the systems level, where professional programs require documentation, measurement, and structured improvement that most protection operations lack.
Why Governance Matters Now
Three forces are converging to make structured governance essential rather than optional.
Regulatory scrutiny continues to intensify. SEC disclosure requirements and proxy advisory firm oversight mean boards are asking harder questions about security expenses. IRS Section 1.132-5(m) compliance demands documented threat assessments and defensible security protocols. Programs without audit-ready governance face exposure.
Threat environments grow more complex. Physical security, cyber vulnerabilities, reputational risks, and social media threats create interconnected challenges requiring coordinated response. Protection can no longer be purely tactical. It needs strategic frameworks that integrate intelligence, assessment, planning, and continuous adaptation.
Stakeholders expect measurable value. Principals, boards, and corporate partners want protection that integrates seamlessly with business operations while delivering demonstrable risk reduction. They need metrics, performance data, and improvement evidence that justify investment and build confidence.
What Quality Management Actually Means
Quality management isn’t bureaucracy. It’s the systematic approach to ensuring consistent service delivery, identifying gaps before they become incidents, and improving continuously based on evidence.
For executive protection, this translates to three interconnected elements:
Documented standards that define what excellence looks like across every program capability. Not generic checklists, but specific procedures for executive protection operations, secure transportation, advance work, residential security, training, vendor management, and the supporting infrastructure that enables protection.
Performance measurement that tracks both effectiveness and efficiency. This means KPIs for incident prevention, response times, stakeholder satisfaction, budget adherence, and capability development, alongside volume metrics that demonstrate operational activity and resource utilization.
Continuous improvement that identifies issues systematically, analyzes root causes, implements corrective actions, and verifies effectiveness. This includes internal audits, client feedback integration, lessons learned capture, and management reviews that drive capability advancement.
The Framework
Quality management systems in executive protection rest on six essential governance categories: strategic foundation documents, operational excellence documentation, quality assurance and audit frameworks, compliance and risk management, financial management and reporting, and continuous improvement processes. Together, these elements create programs that can demonstrate value, withstand scrutiny, and improve consistently.
What Success Looks Like
Professional programs demonstrate specific outcomes. Operational excellence shows in 95%+ performance indicator achievement, zero critical incidents due to process failures, and 90%+ stakeholder satisfaction scores. Business integration emerges when protection aligns seamlessly with organizational operations and principals can focus on their work rather than their security. Audit readiness means regulatory compliance, defensible budget justifications, and transparent performance reporting. Professional development creates career paths and competency frameworks that retain talent and elevate capabilities.
These aren’t aspirational targets. They’re achievable standards when programs operate with documented procedures, measured performance, and continuous improvement.
The Industry Opportunity
Executive protection is professionalizing. The question is whether individual programs lead this transformation or resist it.
Organizations that invest in structured governance will differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace. They’ll withstand regulatory scrutiny, demonstrate measurable value, and attract top talent seeking professional environments rather than operational chaos.
More importantly, they’ll deliver protection that truly serves their principals by keeping them secure, keeping them well, and keeping them productive. That’s always been our mission. Quality management systems simply ensure we achieve it consistently.
Moving Forward
Start with three questions: Can you document your current capabilities with specific evidence? Can you measure your performance with consistent metrics? Can you demonstrate continuous improvement through systematic processes?
If the answers reveal gaps, you’re not alone. Most programs face similar challenges. The difference between average and excellent isn’t capability in crisis moments. It’s the systems that ensure consistent performance, identify issues early, and improve relentlessly.
That’s how professions advance. Not through individual heroics, but through collective commitment to measurable excellence.
The work isn’t glamorous. It’s documentation, measurement, analysis, and improvement. But it’s how we transform from tactical operators into strategic partners. It’s how we demonstrate value that justifies trust and resources. It’s how we build programs worthy of the responsibility placed in us.
The competency gap is real. But it’s addressable. It just requires the same systematic rigor we bring to threat assessment and operational planning, applied to program management and continuous improvement.
AHNA Group partners with organizations to build and assess executive protection programs that integrate seamlessly with business operations while delivering measurable risk reduction and operational excellence. For information about our governance frameworks and assessment methodologies, reach out through our Strategic Engagement team.