Having been a member of the UK and the Los Angeles Chapter of ASIS International (formerly known as the American Society of Industrial Security) I was eager to meet Ruben Karapetyan CPP the current chairman of GLAC (Greater Los Angeles Chapter) here in LA.
We met at a restaurant in Brentwood where I last visited when the reality TV show ‘The Housewives of Beverley Hills’ was being shot … one of the things about living here in LA is that it is the home of the movie industry and filming is taking place on a regular basis with LA as the backdrop. I have worked with ASIS UK on specialist projects over the years and they have been enormously supportive of industry innovation. They were co-sponsors of the Anglo-American Exchange Programme in 2008 and were the first host of Professional Security’s Women in Security (WiS) awards in 2011. I have been talking with Graham Bassett, Vice Chairman of ASIS UK regarding future initiatives. The ability to be involved with ASIS both sides of the pond is really interesting; with more than 37,000 members it is the world’s largest organisation of security professionals. Founded in 1955, its members protect people, property and information assets.
When Karapetyan arrived we started talking about security immediately and I asked him to tell me about his background. He said: “I was born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia. After graduating from high school in 1992 I applied and was admitted to the University of Architecture and Construction.” Karapetyan went on to explain how this was around the time when the Soviet Union collapsed. He explained that money lost its value leaving people devoid of their savings and it was a hard time for many. He also described how Armenia found itself in war and how it was blockaded by two neighbouring countries. This resulted in the country having a shortage of energy and gas. As a consequence many production companies and businesses were forced to close. I asked how he managed to prevail, Karapetyan replied: “During those years my parents, both engineers, lost their jobs. We had electricity only one hour a day and did not have gas at all. We used candles after dark and lumber during the cold winter. While attending college as a full time student, I was able to find a job at the bank as an economist which paid $40 a month. In 1998 I graduated with honours from the university with a bachelor of science degree in economics. I went on to study for my PhD but did not have chance to finish it because I came to the US.” I asked if his entire family came over to the States. He replied: “At the end of 2000, my sister and I immigrated to USA with only $100 in our pockets and little knowledge of the English language. We left our parents back in Armenia not knowing when or if we would see them again.”
Karapetyan talked about attaining legal status and after ten years was finally able to bring his parents to live in the USA . He continued to explain his background. “For a person who left everything behind and had to start all over again, I knew I would have to work hard to achieve my goals. I joined a reputable company called Guardsmark in September 2001 as a security officer. At that time Guardsmark meant more to me than merely my first job in the US, it was the company where I learned things like American culture, work ethics, customer service, and a commitment to high standards. During the first five years I was accepting any assignments, I was ready to go to work day and night, and working 74 hours almost every week. Also during those years I was supporting my sister who was studying at medical school to become a MD (doctor of medicine). Fortunately, at the beginning of 2005 I was promoted to a supervisor position. That was followed in 2006 being appointed to the relationship manager position. In 2008 I was privileged to be nominated for relationship manager of the year award. I was promoted in 2013 to the branch manager position.” I asked about that new role. He replied: “As a branch manager I was responsible for the overall management and growth of a branch office. This comprised of six subordinate managers, 370 security officers, and annual revenues of $12m. I managed the delivery of services through oversight of all branch administrative and operational functions as they pertain to human resources, payroll, billing, training of security officers, servicing of clients and establishment of new business. I also oversaw that proper protocol was followed for all workers compensation and risk management claims. I conducted in-depth investigations to facilitate expedient resolution of all such claims. I prepared monthly and annual forecasts, budgets and audits. In addition I negotiated annual rate increases with all clients whilst maintaining a 98 per cent client retention rate through strong relationships and servicing.”
Karapetyan went on to explain how he also reduced turnover of hourly employees to less than 25 per cent. Quality was always at the forefront and he was the ISO 9001 branch co-ordinator. He monitored the registration compliance and branch improvement strategies. Also, security planning and special events, such as global conferences, working with Secret Service and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. He explained how they conducted security drills at the clients’ sites to check the efficiency of all security measures. Once identified they implemented security protocols and solutions. Karapetyan expanded on the company and how much it meant to him and went on to say that late in 2015 Guardsmark was acquired by Universal Protection Service. He explained that whilst his employment wasn’t interrupted, his title changed to division manager on October 1, 2015 after being employed for 14 years by his former company.
We spoke about mergers and acquisitions within the wider world of security and the transitional period for all concerned. I asked him to tell me more about his current role as divisional manager for Universal Protection Service. Karapetyan explained: “I am the primary client contact person for assigned portfolio of accounts. I am able to utilise branch and corporate resources to define, address and resolve any client issues that may occur. I also ensure that staff with assigned portfolio accounts meet all client and company expectations and standards. I confirm that policies regarding coaching and discipline are followed consistently. Any employee complaints that might arise are promptly reported, investigated and resolved. Compliance with all employee relations policies is paramount and followed consistently.” Karapetyan went on to talk about his involvement in coaching, developing and training branch staff to meet branch needs, along with his oversight regarding company policy execution and assisting in such things as providing support to branch staff to effectively perform their duties. He spoke enthusiastically about working closely with the sales team by contributing in sales presentations to potential clients and being involved in the mix from the sales calls to participating in sales events. We chatted about the plethora of tasks from financial reports to managing key branch measurements and the oversight of assigned client portfolios.
Karapetyan also said: “I attend and actively participate in management meetings within region and at corporate level. I observe operations and make suggestions for improved efficiency as appropriate, including providing ideas and plans for growth and improvements within the assigned portfolio, branch or company-wide.” We then started talking at length about GLAC. After some time I asked what his ambition was for the Greater Los Angeles chapter of ASIS. He replied: “To share my knowledge and experience I have accrued during my years with the chapter and in the security industry. In return I receive personal satisfaction from knowing I could help and make a difference.” Karapetyan is still enthusiastic and immersed after two years as chairman and I asked what he thought he has brought to the role. He said: “Knowledge of what members expect from ASIS and their local chapter. All local ASIS chapters play a vital role in engaging and retaining members. It is the ability and understanding by the Board to identify what members require and meet their specific needs.” I asked what he would like to achieve before his term ends. Karapetyan thought for a moment and said: “I would like to expand the membership even more. I would like to see additional informative educational events, and partner with law enforcement and other non-profit organisations that can be valuable to ASIS members.”
I asked if there was a succession plan for ideas and projects started in his term. He replied: “Yes, the new board will continue projects that started during my term. They will also continue with legacy issues that have been in place from former boards. For instance that would include our monthly luncheons, half-day seminars, Security Officers Appreciation Day (SOAD) and many other initiatives. The prior year’s documents and event information will be carried forward and transferred to the new board. We have found that type of continuity ensures that successful innovation from the past continues to be implemented or improved for the future events.” We talked about the upcoming events for GLAC and the wider world of security. I asked; if you could change one thing in the security profession what would it be? He replied: “It would be training standardisation. The most significant issue facing the security sector is standardisation. The security industry is not standardised and that is especially critical in terms of training. Training requirements vary greatly by state and in most cases include bare minimum training.” How did he see the future of the security profession in the USA? Karapetyan replied: “It is my opinion that the security profession will grow rapidly in the near future with more and more companies undertaking risk analysis and vulnerability assessments. Organisations will recognise the need and value of private security. At the same time the quality of security professionals and requirements will dramatically increase. Most of the clients will recognise the value of highly trained security officers to protect access control points, employees and corporate assets and will no longer settle for ‘relaxed’, untrained, and unsupervised officers assigned to their sites. Also, we will see more and more companies that are going to either replace unarmed security with armed or have armed security on-site as additional resource to existing unarmed security.” I am looking forward to more ASIS innovations from both sides of the pond.
