During his tenure at the King County Sheriff’s Office as well as after, Jim has been responsible for security in many forms, including VIP Protective Services and as the Global Event Security Director for Securitas/Microsoft Global Security.
VIP Protective Services
From 1991 through 2006, Jim was instrumental in organizing VIP Security Details with the U.S. Secret Service whenever a Dignitary would come to the Greater Seattle area. He was heavily involved with Presidential visit protection, helping secure President George H.W. Bush, President Clinton, and President George W. Bush, as well as international figures, including Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou.
Jim was an integral planner for the 1990 Goodwill Games, the Asian Pacific Economic Conference, the National Governor’s Conference, and the World Trade Organization meetings that were all held in the Seattle area.
Jim was responsible for airport arrivals/departures of Dignitaries, Motorcades for Dignitaries, Air Support Logistics, Venue Site Security, Waterside Security, and all Operational Plans for the King County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, in 1994, when a domestic violence shooting occurred in the King County Courthouse that left two people dead, Jim was responsible for securing the courthouse, 10 district courts, and two probation offices in a matter of 10 days. Those plans are still in effect today.
Securitas / Microsoft Global Events
In 2009 and 2010, Jim was the Global Event Security Director for all of Microsoft’s global events. In that role, he directed operations with a mandate to restructure and grow the client base as well as revise the strategy and submit recommendations to the Global Security Director.
Jim managed a global team of 12 event security managers based in Seattle, London, and Singapore, plus a team of 150 outsourced employees. Some highlights from Jim’s work include:
- Within 10 months, grew the client base to use security services by 83% through negotiation, website visibility, and establishing positive relationships with Microsoft business owners.
- Overhauled the internal organizational structure from top to bottom, which boosted corporate efficiency and improved performance measurement.
- Streamlined the reporting processes and procedures for teams worldwide.
- Renegotiated and revised service level agreements with third-party security vendors, resulting in lower cost and increased efficiency.
- Authored a new hire training manual and event security guidelines in line with corporate policies and procedures.
- Accomplished the restructure and obtained security director approval for a strategic plan in just eight months.
- Mentored team members so that performance went from marginal to an above standard rating in just one year.