About Ken Wheatley MA, CPP

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• Ken Wheatley, MA, CPP, is a board-certified independent security management consultant and forensic expert witness. He founded Royal Security Group LLC, an independent security consulting practice based in Asheville, North Carolina, with domestic and international clients.

•  He has 41 years of combined experience as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, FBI Special Agent, Senior Vice President / Chief Security Officer (CSO) with Sony Electronics' global operations, a social impact CEO, and a two-time entrepreneur.

• As an FBI Special Agent, he worked on various investigations and undercover operations involving kidnapping, espionage, drugs, fugitives, and violent criminal apprehensions. 

• During his tenure at Sony, he led various operations, domestically and internationally, such as Corporate Security (including 6 Olympics, Retail, R&D, Supply Chain, IT Security, Executive Protection, Investigations, New Construction, Tenant Improvements, Joint Ventures, Mergers and Acquisitions, & Commercial Properties), Dealer Sales Compliance (over 1000 stores), Brand Integrity, Business Continuity, Corporate Resilience, Competitive Intelligence, Non-Financial Risk Management, Food Service, Ground Fleet, Administrative Services, and Temporary Staffing, with a staff of 18, and a budget of $100 million.

• Ken served as the interim CEO of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a social impact organization that provides grants to people with physical disabilities in all 50 states and 70 countries across 104+ different sports.

• He received his BA from Florida International University and his MA from Webster University (summa cum laude). He's also attended senior executive programs at the Harvard Kennedy School, Kellogg School of Management and the University of Michigan Business School.

• He earned his Certified Protection Professional (CPP) Board Certification from ASIS International and has maintained that designation since 1997.

• He earned his Certifed Protection Specialist (CPS) designation from the Executive Protection Institute. 

• Ken also served on the National University’s School of Engineering, Technology and Media Advisory Board and was an adjunct instructor at UCSD Extended Studies, Grossmont College Administration of Justice,  American Nursing Institute, and Florida International University School of Business.

• He has addressed numerous professional associations, business groups, government entities, and conventions internationally on investigations, crisis management, meeting security, global supply chain security, IT security, business risks, Six Sigma, corporate espionage, business continuity and resilience, emerging trends, environmental issues, and workplace violence prevention.

• Ken has guest lectured on business management, emerging trends, and international security at the California State University San Marcos College of Business Administration; the University of California San Diego (UCSD) HR Management Program; the University of Phoenix Human Resources program; the University of Redlands School of Business, and National University.

• He’s been featured or quoted in the San Diego Business Journal; CSO (Chief Security Officer) magazine; Oracle’s Profit E-Business magazine; Meeting News magazine; The 10 Immutable Laws of Power Selling by James DeSena; Building Operating Management magazine; Re-Thinking Corporate Security in the 9-11 Era by Dennis Dalton, and interviewed on several radio and TV stations.

• In 2012, Ken was selected as the California Co-Director of the Lung Cancer Alliance, a Washington, DC-based non-profit. 

• From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Chairman of the Lung Cancer Subcommittee with the California Dialogue on Cancer Coalition (CDOC), which the California Department of Public Health formed. The CDOC was tasked with revising/updating the five-year California Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.

•  Book: Contributing Author to Strategic Security Management: A Risk Assessment Guide For Decision Makers
   

Current or Former Board of Directors or Advisory Roles:

• Team Rubicon Deputy Administrator for Asheville and Western North Carolina

• FBI Domestic Security Alliance Council - Senior Advisory Group

• FBI Domestic Security Alliance Council - Advisor to the Threat & Information Sharing Committee

• FBI InfraGard San Diego Chapter Board of Directors

• Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA) - National Board of Directors; Vice President of Education; President of San Diego Chapter

• International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) - (Chair of various committees and Former Secretary, Treasurer)

• International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety Foundation (IAHSS) - Research Papers Coordinator

• GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer - National Ambassador Council

• International Security Management Association (ISMA) - the worldwide organization of Chief Security Officers for the Fortune 500 and Global 200 (President 2007)

• International Organization of Standardization (ISO) / Technical Committee (TC) 8, Ships and Marine Technology, Geneva. Chairman’s Strategic Advisory Group (CSAG) and U.S. representative on the project team assigned to address the global ship piracy issues.

• Red Cross Board for San Diego and Imperial Counties
  
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America (Carlsbad chapter)
  
• Citizens Review Board on Police Practices, (Team 2 Leader), appointed by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders
  
• High Technology Crime Investigation Association (Secretary)
  
• San Diego Mid-County Transportation Management Association (Chairman and President)
  
• San Diego Metro Transit Board Light Rail Study Group
  
• Private Sector Security Advisory Group with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Transnational Terrorism Group in Washington, D.C.
  
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Homeland Security Policy Task Force and the Pandemic Planning Workgroup, Washington, D.C.
  
• Two international cargo security advisory groups with U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Deep and Diverse Experience...Problem Solving Skills...Tangible Results...Independent, Trusted Advice...Client Satisfaction...Legendary Service