SIA New Member Profile: Gavin de Becker and Associates

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member Gavin de Becker & Associates (GDBA) protects public figures and families, with clients including more than 80 of the world’s most prominent families and at-risk individuals. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with an additional office in Glendale, California, and a presence in dozens of cities across the United States and the United Kingdom, and travels the world protecting clients, consulting with numerous organizations and providing training courses.

SIA spoke with Bryan Niederhelm, senior vice president, threat assessment and management at GDBA, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Bryan Niederhelm: Describing the unique origins of our firm is hard. It would require going back nearly five decades. I could share about our founder, Gavin de Becker, and his early work with the Secret Service, CIA and FBI. I could share about his childhood experiences and the defining moments he witnessed on television, namely the assassination of JFK. I could share about the first training academy of its kind focused preventing violence and mass shootings, which we still operate 26 years later. Those are the true roots of our firm – each shaping Gavin’s vision for how our firm protects human life and provides peace of mind. 

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings or your company unique?

BN: Our mission is to enhance safety, privacy and peace of mind. That might be at workplaces, schools or public figures’ home, to name a few. GDBA provides many interconnected and complementary services to accomplish that mission: threat assessment and management, investigations, global intelligence, technical and physical security design, cybersecurity, privacy consultation, training and public figure protection.

One unique characteristic of GDBA is we have no revenue or growth targets, no venture capital or other investors asking us about the bottom line. As a result, we have zero competing interests to color our judgement. Consequently, we focus on the mission. 

Our people are another characteristic that makes us unique. Finding and hiring such special human beings is a big challenge and investment. Our selection process is arguably the most robust and effective of any organization on the planet, while our retention rate is among the best in the industry.  Close to 200 GDBA associates have been here five years or more, and dozens of associates have been here for 20 years. We offer careers at GDBA. Finally, 61% of our firm (including myself) are military veterans.

What’s something we might not know about your company – or something new you’re doing in security?

BN: If information about our firm isn’t known publicly, it’s typically by design. We’re obsessed with confidentiality. It’s the foundation from which our service is delivered. 

With that in mind, one service we make available to the public is our Advanced Threat Assessment Academy. Here we organize the world’s top experts and practitioners to share their wisdom with attendees who are responsible for preventing violence in their respective organizations. This often includes federal agencies, law enforcement, Fortune 500 corporations, colleges and universities, school districts and more.

Another recent development I can share is our establishing an AI Think Tank. Our intent is to answer two questions: How can artificial intelligence (AI) be used to create risk for our clients?  How can we use AI to reduce risk for our clients?

What do you think are the biggest opportunities in the security industry right now?

BN: One opportunity we see for the security industry lies in never forgetting why we exist: SECURITY.  Putting safety and security first will not always be best for short-term or quarterly financial targets.  However, prosperity follows over time when we reduce risk and enhance safety.        

What are the biggest challenges facing your company and/or others in the security industry?

BN: Human biology and behavior hasn’t changed much; however, the tools used to inflict harm have changed significantly – and continue to evolve at an increasing pace. As Gavin says, we’re living in space age times with stone age minds. 

Our hope is that security practitioners will develop better ways to collaborate, evolve technologies and scale wisdom. If that doesn’t happen, the security industry will be one of many to suffer consequences. 

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

BN: A vital role SIA plays is setting standards and influencing regulations. Without guardrails, security practitioners will create risk. With the wrong guardrails, security practitioners will be hindered in their mission to reduce risk. We simply hope that supporting SIA will help security practitioners end up on the right side of that equation.

How does your organization engage with SIA? What are your plans for involvement in the next year?

BN: We plan to attend Securing New Ground conference, contribute to SIA’s AI Advisory Board and engage with members to improve our ability to predict the security challenges facing our clients.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.