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Personal & Executive

Personal and Executive Protection

Discreet close protection for executives, families, and high-net-worth principals — designed around your routine, your travel, and your environment.

Personal and executive protection is built around the principal, not the provider. Our work begins with a quiet assessment — your routine, your travel pattern, your residence, your family — and ends with a security posture that fits your life rather than constrains it.

Close protection officers are EU-licensed and operationally experienced. Security drivers combine evasive-driving competence with the discretion required of an executive role. Residential security design covers physical hardening, access control, monitoring, and household protocols.

For travel and high-risk movements we layer crisis-and-incident standby and travel risk management — so a problem in transit becomes a managed event rather than an emergency call.

Capabilities

Close Protection (CP) — civilian principals (HNW, executives, families)
VIP and Executive Protection (event-level / day-of)
Security Driver / Protective Driving
HNW Residential Security Design
Crisis and Incident Response Standby (K&R-aligned)
Travel Risk Management

What is executive protection?

Executive protection — also called close protection or EP — is the professional discipline of keeping a named individual safe in their daily environment, during travel, and at events. It is not bodyguard work in the Hollywood sense. It is planning, intelligence, and risk management first; physical intervention is the option of last resort.

A close protection officer (CPO) operates as part of a structured team or as a single operative embedded in the principal's routine. Their role is to reduce the probability that a threat materialises, and to ensure that if it does, the principal is already out of harm's way. This requires advance work on venues, liaison with local services, route planning, and continuous situational awareness.

Executive protection in the Netherlands and internationally is governed by strict licensing requirements. All Mission Support close protection officers hold EU-recognised credentials and are vetted to a standard appropriate for high-net-worth and diplomatic principals.

When do you need a close protection officer?

The decision to retain executive protection is usually triggered by one of four things: a credible threat (received communication, intelligence, prior incident), elevated public profile (media exposure, controversial decisions, activist attention), high-value travel (regions with kidnap-for-ransom history, active conflict, or inadequate local policing), or a transition period (dispute, litigation, termination, corporate restructure).

Not all situations require a full close protection team. A threat assessment — conducted before any deployment is specified — determines whether you need a single CPO, a driver-plus-operative pair, a residential security review, or a full multi-shift team. Over-deploying resources is wasteful and draws attention; under-deploying is dangerous. The assessment is the starting point.

Mission Support conducts threat assessments as a standalone service. Clients are under no obligation to proceed to deployment — the assessment exists to give you an honest picture of the actual risk level, not to justify a sale.

How Mission Support designs executive protection

Every executive protection engagement starts with a principal profile and a threat matrix. We map the principal's routine, travel frequency, family exposure, digital footprint, and any known or inferred adversarial interest. Against that profile we design a security concept — team size, shift pattern, vehicle requirements, residential measures — that achieves the protection objective with minimum footprint.

Minimum footprint matters. Visible heavy protection signals wealth and importance to would-be threats. Our preference is for operatives who integrate naturally into the principal's environment — suited where suits are worn, casual where casual is appropriate — with physical protection capability held in reserve.

We operate 24/7. Shift handovers are documented. Incidents are reported to a senior controller, not left to the operator on the ground. Clients receive a monthly summary and have a direct line to operational leadership at all times.

Sectors served

High-net-worth principalsCorporate executivesDiplomatic familiesBoards & private offices

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between executive protection and a bodyguard?+

A bodyguard is a reactive role — stand close, intervene if something happens. Executive protection is a proactive discipline: threat assessment, advance work, route planning, communications, and contingency protocols. A close protection officer uses physical intervention only as a last resort; the goal is to ensure the situation never reaches that point.

How much does executive protection cost?+

Executive protection is priced on request — there is no fixed day rate. Cost depends on the number of operatives, shift pattern, travel requirements, vehicle specification, and the threat level informing the deployment. Mission Support does not publish rates; all engagements are quoted individually after a short intake. Initial consultations are confidential and without obligation.

Do your close protection officers carry weapons?+

Armed close protection is available under the licensing frameworks applicable in the relevant jurisdiction. In the Netherlands, armed civilian close protection is subject to strict legal requirements and is not the default. We assess the threat level and legal landscape for each principal and advise accordingly. Most executive protection assignments operate with unarmed but highly trained CPOs.

Can you provide executive protection for international travel?+

Yes. International travel executive protection is one of our core competencies. We conduct advance work in the destination country, coordinate with local vetted partners where needed, manage secure ground transport, and maintain a continuous duty-of-care chain from departure to return. Travel risk management briefings are prepared for all high-risk destinations.

What is a close protection officer (CPO)?+

A close protection officer (CPO) is a trained, licensed security professional whose primary role is the safety of a named individual — the principal. CPOs are trained in threat assessment, advance work, first aid, defensive driving coordination, and crisis response. They operate individually or as part of a larger protection team depending on the threat profile and principal's requirements.

How quickly can Mission Support deploy executive protection?+

For pre-planned engagements we confirm deployment within 24 hours of contract signing. For urgent or same-day requirements, contact our operations desk directly — our 24/7 dispatch capability allows rapid mobilisation where the threat assessment supports immediate deployment.

Contact

Talk to a specialist about this service

We will respond within one business day. Initial conversations are confidential and without obligation.

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