Press Release

A security consulting firm has been formed by several former corporate Chief Security Officers (CSO).

Minneaoplis, MN, September, 2004. If experience really counts, the newly formed Business Security Advisory Group (BSAG) will exceed that standard and provide an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds and skills for their clients. The Group is comprised of several former Chief Security Officers from major global corporations who, together, represent several hundred years of experience on the front lines of global business risk.

“We have learned, trusted and collaborated together on global risk issues on behalf of our employers for many years” said Dick Lefler, BSAG President and the former CSO of American Express. “Together, we have experienced the incredible evolution of domestic and global threats, learned innovative and responsive ways to protect our companies, shareholders and employees and now turn our efforts to focusing that collective knowledge for our new clients.”

The former CSO Group consists of Dick Lefler, American Express; George Campbell, Fidelity Investments; Jack McCarthy, Texaco; Randy Uzzell, Burlington Industries and John Thompson formerly in-house counsel with 3M Corporation and now an attorney with Rider Bennett, LLP in Minneapolis, MN. “While we formed the initial core, our intent is to complement and grow our capabilities and experience with many of our global security colleagues and are extremely proud to be affiliated with a growing number like Bernie Banahan from Motorola, George Murphy from Mobil Corporation, Jim Jessee from Procter & Gamble, George Miserendino from Excel Energy and Tom Ruxlow, Caterpillar, Inc.

“We are all proud to have all built security organizations with best in class practices. But the risk environment never stands still and continues to evolve in far more sophisticated and threatening ways” said Mr. Lefler. “Terrorism, cyber crime, business continuity, physical security, business conduct, workplace violence and the growing acknowledgement that the corporate security organization is an integral element of the corporate governance infrastructure combine to highlight the need for our experience and lessons-learned.”

“We’ve all been there through globalization, foreign and domestic terrorism, the technology explosion and the implications of corporate fraud and serious business conduct infractions” said Lefler. “This is about how we can share our knowledge with our colleagues and companies that have a maturing security presence who have concluded that the risks confronting their operations require an experienced focus. We’ve been there and have an incredible inventory of experiences and resources that can be called upon to assist our clients strategically or in real time.”

BSAG proposes to differentiate itself from the field of security consultants based upon the growing collective resources of partners and affiliates and the real world experience that is represented by this consortium. Lefler said “we’ve not learned our lessons from the outside looking in. We’ve spent our professional lives in the public and private sectors dealing with the very real world of evolving security risk. This is about passing this knowledge on.”

The firm will provide a wide range of professional services emphasizing strengthening corporate security risk management programs. These include risk assessments, program and regulatory compliance reviews, program development to address emerging business needs and providing expert advice to companies seeking to enhance corporate security capabilities. Dick Lefler described a unique feature which seeks to leverage BSAG staff experience: “BSAG can provide expert security management to small and mid-cap size companies who are not ready to develop full time in house security expertise. There are a number of smaller companies who do not have an in-house security capability and others who have hired a new CSO who would benefit from occasional support of a veteran. We’ve been there and are in a position to help these companies address their needs in an on-call, very cost effective way.”

In the future, the Business Security Advisory Group will be adding resources from their extensive network of CSO colleagues from around the globe. Further information on BSAG may be found on their website at www.bsag-cso.com.