The Value of Storytelling to Prove Security’s Company-Wide Impact

Straight from the floor of GSX 2022, Jim Bernhardt, Corporate Security Leader at the Nikola Motor Company, joins host Chuck Randolph to discuss the impact of storytelling to demonstrate the value of scenario planning and addressing risk before it becomes a larger issue. Thinking about what could go wrong is innate in nearly every security professional’s mindset — from a visitor passing through monitoring stations unnoticed to a USB drive containing valuable information getting into the wrong hands. However, these same thoughts are rarely shared by the people they protect, and communicating the need to scenario plan and manage risk to the C-suite is no walk in the park. Jim Bernhardt, Corporate Security Leader at the Nikola Motor Company, discusses how to approach this daunting, but critical task with host Chuck Randolph. He shares what guides his risk assessment strategy, and how to use company-wide documentation such as the 10K to educate his team on risk factors and develop metrics to address them, using language that makes sense to business units throughout the company. Jim manages all corporate security operations for Nikola Motor Company, a leading technology and manufacturing organization. He provides protection for company personnel and property by creating, implementing and maintaining security systems, policies, procedures, and practices. He also manages physical security, loss/fraud prevention, crisis/emergency management, business continuity, travel security, incident investigations, event security, and executive protection. Jim began his career as a Company Officer for the U.S. Army.