Mark Porterfield, CPP, CHS-III Joins Whelan Security As Senior Vice President & Chief Security Officer

Whelan Security Strengthens Executive Team

St. Louis - Whelan Security, one of the industry’s foremost respected providers of contract security staffing services, has announced that Mark Porterfield, CPP, CHS-III has joined the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO).

Porterfield brings almost twenty-four (24) years of leadership experience in contract security services and law enforcement to Whelan. In his new position, Porterfield will oversee all contract security operations and service delivery programs for the contract security company. He will lead, manage and support all existing regions within the organization and ensure that Whelan maintains consistent, high-quality service delivery to its customers while the company continues its aggressive geographical and vertical market expansion.

“We are thrilled to have Mark join our senior management team,” said Whelan Executive Vice President Prentice Robertson. “He is a true security expert; and he will provide our team the strategic leadership and operational support needed as we continue to expand throughout the U.S. and begin to add and promote new service offerings to the industry.”

Most recently, Porterfield spent the last four years in key roles with AlliedBarton Security Services. Since 2006, he has served in a dual role as Vice President and General Manager of Government Services, a division he started for AlliedBarton, and Vice President and General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Region. In these roles, he steered the company through the Safety Act Certification and GSA Service Schedule processes while simultaneously adding significant volume to both divisions. Porterfield also served as South Atlantic Region Vice President - Operations & Training and Vice President of Operations. In these roles, he managed all aspects of the daily operations of a $400 million division spread across a seven state region.

Prior to Allied's acquisition of Barton Protective Services, Porterfield was the Corporate Director Customer Support Services and Quality Assurance for Barton from 2001 - 2004. In this role, he developed, implemented and supported all of the organization's internal and external security, quality assurance (including ISO 9001:2000 implementations) and customer retention-related programs and initiatives. Porterfield started his career in the contract security industry working for Borg Warner Security Services (Burns International) from 1992 - 2001. While there, Porterfield served in a number of roles, including National Accounts and as South Florida Regional Manager. In addition, he developed the first regional Alarm Response & Patrol Division and successfully managed two large acquisitions.

Before joining the contract security industry, Porterfield spent almost nine years as a police officer and was appointed as the youngest Police Chief in Florida in 1992, a post he held through 1998.

Porterfield is actively involved in numerous organizations, including the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) where he is board certified in security management and also serves on the Private Security Services Council, the American College of Forensic Examiners, the Coalition of Government Procurement and the National Association of Security Companies (NASCO). He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Columbus University and an Associates of Science degree in Management with Applied Principles in Marketing and Technology from Kaplan School of Business. Mark is forty-three years old, resides both in Cocoa, FL and Atlanta, GA, and has been married to his wife Nina for 22 years. They have two adult children.

"As we continue our rapid ascent within the industry, it was critical for us to add another leader at the top of our organization," said Whelan President Greg Twardowski. "Mark brings a proven track record of significant success in operations, customer satisfaction, quality assurance, government services and mergers and acquisitions to our company. His expansive industry knowledge and security expertise coupled with his experience and familiarity with the South and Mid-Atlantic markets will be instrumental as we continue to aggressively expand throughout the industry."

WHELAN SECURITY:With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Whelan Security is a privately owned and operated security firm providing outsourced and contract security staffing services to corporate headquarters, Class A office buildings, financial institutions, educational campuses, industrial and distribution facilities, medical facilities, retail shopping centers, residential communities, and sensitive government facilities throughout the Central and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States (including Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, New Mexico, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC). Founded in 1949, Whelan Security currently employs more than 3,750 full-time employees and currently ranks within the top fifteen security companies in the country, placing it within the top 1% of the industry. In addition, the company also ranks as one of the top 10 privately owned contract security companies operating in the U.S.