Lee Oughton, Vice President of Latam at SPS outlines why proactive engagement and human expertise is required to meet the security challenges of 2025.

Navigating risk

As we continue into 2025, it is essential to reflect on the evolving security landscape and the threats faced by individuals and organizations.

In 2024, we witnessed stronger leadership within the industry, with leaders leveraging human-centric emotional intelligence skills – empathetic leadership being a notable example – rather than relying solely on technology, AI and machine learning to mitigate risks.

There is a sense of unity within the community, which is expected to flourish again in 2025.

The humans are still leading the charge!

The Americas remain a dynamic environment, with countries such as Mexico continuing to struggle against the prominence and sophisticated operations of cartels and organized criminal syndicates, which maintain dominant influence in the region.

Their strategic positioning allows them to continue expanding and exploiting regions, extending north into the US and south throughout Latin America.

Organizations in Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, Brazil and Nicaragua face challenges when navigating the threats, risks and vulnerabilities in these countries.

Organized crime, institutional weaknesses, socioeconomic inequality and instability, and cross-border issues are among the common challenges we must address while advising our clients.

In such a complex and unpredictable environment, having access to experienced professionals is crucial.

Experts bring not only a deep understanding of regional dynamics but also the ability to anticipate challenges and implement proactive strategies.

Their guidance ensures that individuals and organizations can navigate threats with confidence and resilience, minimizing risks and maximizing preparedness.

We predict that customers will adopt a centralized approach when seeking solutions to navigate these challenges.

Global Assistance memberships and retained security support services are likely to grow, driven by the need for proactive engagement and interactive support between security teams and their customers.

These programs really make a significant difference to the consumer, as they are able to stay connected and ahead of any security trends or crisis events that may occur during 2025.

Customers often express relief, knowing that experienced and skilled professionals are just a phone call away to guide them through crises or emergency situations.

There is an increasing need for embedded security solutions and outsourced security and risk management providers to oversee internal programs for these customers.

This allows security leadership to be more flexible and responsive to key stakeholder requirements, fostering greater engagement with their C-Suite to navigate the pitfalls and challenges of the Americas region.

In closing, I want to highlight the biggest challenges we anticipate in 2025.

With people spending more time at home and online, this facilitates criminal actors operating in the shadows.

We predict an increase in lone-wolf attacks, akin to the tragic events seen in New York, New Orleans and Las Vegas.

These attacks typically target soft locations with high foot traffic, such as hotels, sporting events and large transportation hubs.

It is evident that robust security measures are essential to prevent such incidents.

By focusing on proactive engagement and human expertise, we can rise to meet these challenges, ensuring safety and stability in an increasingly complex landscape.

Lee Oughton

Lee is a distinguished security, risk and crisis management leader, currently serving as the Vice President of Latam for SPS headquartered in Hereford, UK now part of the Concentric group.

He is also the Co-Founder of The Kindness Games, a movement aimed at promoting kindness and positivity within corporate cultures.

An accomplished public speaker, Lee recently authored “The Kindness Games” a No.1 Top New Release in social media for Business on Amazon.

For the past eight years, he has resided in Queretaro, Mexico, gaining recognition as an expert on issues related to organized crime and his insights have been featured by notable organizations such as Fox News, The New York Times, Univision and InsightCrime.org.

This article was originally published in the special February Influencers Edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.