Meet Xavier Carn, Vice President Security EMEA, International SOS & Control Risks

We are concentrating our medical, logistical and safety resources

When it comes to security, do you think it's better to use a single supplier or several?

Xavier Carn - There are two schools of thought. Some companies are able to do bespoke work, because they have very detailed expertise and will choose a particular partner for the project. passenger trackinganother for theinsurance or themedical assistance. Others will prefer to have a single, global partner with the capacity to manage all these issues. This is the model we believe in, that of theintegrated supportBut the other solution is perfectly justifiable.

What are the advantages of the integrated model?

Xavier Carn - We concentrate medical, logistical and security resources in one place. This avoids having to make ten phone calls to activate different service providers. During major crises, we see that the issues of safety, security and logistics merge together. You have to get people out of an area, make sure that you can communicate with them, but also that you can supply them, or even help an injured person. Having a single service provider brings efficiency. Our doctors talk about "golden hourIf you are quick to react to an emergency situation and to activate resources, the medical prognosis increases exponentially. Similarly, in the case of a political crisis, we know that the options will diminish as time goes by.

Can you think of a situation where this unity of action played an essential role?

Xavier Carn - A case arose involving an employee with a serious gunshot wound in Tripoli. He was stabilised by our team, but needed to be evacuated to Dubai for an operation. On-site security was provided by one of our service providers, in liaison with our Paris base, to manage the arrival of an air ambulance. We had to coordinate the stabilisation of the patient and the moment when he would be ready for transport, and then secure his transport from the clinic to the airport. There was a very short window to land, collect the patient and take off again. It was already very difficult for us, but a company dealing with two or three providers would have found it very difficult to save this person's life.