The Problem
The CEO of a global brand was contacted directly by his mobile phone by an individual who had a very personal grievance against the company.
The initial problem was that the CEO was so accessible that his mobile phone number was publicly available. The person of concern managed to encourage members of the C-Suite to engage in a video call with him, which gave his grievance legitimacy and elevated his status in his mind. He made several demands, and associated threats accompanied these. The company made several attempts to alleviate and resolve the grievances that the person of concern held. Still, they were unsuccessful, and the risks escalated and involved other board members. These threats were causing an increasing level of fear amongst those he targeted, which included a fear of any physical action he may take, the reputational harm that he might inflict on the company and the psychological damage that those targeted were beginning to experience.
All attempts to engage and reason with the person of concern had failed, and such was the level of concern that this dispute became the organisation’s most critical priority.
The Solution
The first phase included conducting a full digital investigation into the person of concern. We wanted to know who this person was and whether they were referencing the dispute online. We wished to ascertain if there were references or evidence of any weapons being owned, used, or referenced and whether any of the proximal indicators were present, such as signs of leakage or identification.
Once I had completed that phase, I conducted a full psychological fixated profile of the person of concern. Our dedicated forensic psychologist’s assessment enabled her to identify any behavioural or personality traits that may cause concern or highlight any escalating risks.
From the psychological profile, I then created an engagement and communication strategy. This strategy guided the client, detailing how best to engage with the person of concern to ensure a uniform response across the organisation and a communication strategy designed with the person of concern’s personality in mind to defuse rather than escalate the dispute.
I then conducted a digital vulnerability assessment on key directors to identify any vulnerabilities the person or concern could exploit.
Due to the level of threat identified, we provided a short-term security presence at the home of two directors and guidance on mitigating the vulnerabilities identified.
The client requested that I represent them in engaging with the police, who investigated the threats, shared our findings, and asked for action. I assisted in preparing the director’s evidential statements, ensuring they were detailed, identifying the points to prove the offences committed by the person of concern, and including the psychological impact each had experienced.
The Outcome
The client’s safety was maintained, and the threats stopped. The vulnerabilities identified by each director were addressed, and their home security improved.
The Crown Prosecution Service successfully prosecuted the person of concern.