Humans of Sentinel - Part 1 of 10

In our last blog "Looking for the weakest link" we touched upon having the right personnel is the main key ingredient to our success. This is why the way we recruit or scout for security in a very different way.

When looking for personnel to represent Sentinel, we are looking beyond the scope of duties in regards to security. We are looking for transferrable skills or those that already possesses a certain skill set or level of training that is reflected in our training philosophies.

This week we will be highlighting Shawn Cooper.

Shawn has been with Sentinel since 2009. He is an extremely dependable and important role player within our organization. Shawn is also one of our supervisors who handles many of our executive protection details. Shawn leaves no stone unturned when doing a background check on any assignment. His work is complete and thorough.

But who exactly is Shawn and why is he part of our team?

Shawn began his law enforcement career with Canada Customs and Border Patrol in Gananoque, Ontario where he determined the admissibility of persons and goods seeking entry to Canada. While with Canada Customs, Shawn's "outside of the box" thinking was credited for the identification of a security breach that may have allowed countless people, unfit for admission into Canada; access to the country. This detection resulted in the development and implementation of new procedures and policies.

Shawn left Canada Customs to embark in a career in Private Security to focus on the close protection of high profile persons. In 2003, Shawn was selected to be part of an 8 man team assisting the United States Secret Service, Homeland Security and the Washington D.C. police with securing a venue for a Presidential visit. Shawn was also appointed to one of the four podium positions where the incumbent U.S. President would be presenting.

In 2005, Shawn was awarded a five year contract to provide close protection to a prominent Canadian television personality. In this position Shawn was responsible for the tactical planning of arrival/departure of high profile guests, social media threats, stalkers and overzealous fans. Shawn’s excellent ability for strategic insight and professionalism made him highly sought after by other clients. This quickly led to Shawn being awarded new responsibilities and additional close protection contracts with other media personalities, local and international celebrities and an active involvement with the Toronto International Film Festival for the past seven years.

In 2010, Shawn was tasked as the main point of contact to the RCMP Site Commander during the G20 Summit and liaised with various international protective teams for visiting delegates. Shawn was also charged with the close protection of the all the First Ladies during a private event.

Currently, Shawn is the Executive Protection Manager of one of the top 4 Canadian Financial Institutions in Canada, which also has headquarters in Latin America, the Caribbean and New York. With this responsibility Shawn oversees executive travel , both personal and business related as well as implementing procedures to deliver a safe and secure work environment . Throughout Shawn's career, he has always tried to achieve more and realized early on that in order to be proficient in the close protection industry you can't rely on what you did in the past. With that mantra, Shawn has pursued additional personal protection training with Globe Risk, Icon Services Corporation, BPI and is currently study for his Anti-Terrorism Specialist accreditation with the AntiTerrorism Accreditation Board.

At the end of it all, this is just a glimpse into one of many Humans of Sentinel.

Stay tuned for next week as we continue to showcase our personnel and give you an insiders view into why we continue to be leaders in our industry.

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