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by Fred Burton and Scott Stewart
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the world was shocked…
Reacting in horror to the graphic footage of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson being gunned down on the streets of New York. Contrary to many reports, his murder was not the first attack against a CEO on American soil, and it won’t be the last.
Since this murder has already spawned copycat attacks, The Protective Intelligence Advantage: Mitigating the Rising Threat to Prominent People is especially needed. In it, the authors outline various case examples of other executives, VIPs, and high-profile figures. The goal being to learn key elements from them, then outline how individuals and security teams can utilize protective intelligence tools to protect themselves and their families from imminent harm.
After a lifetime of investigating attacks on high-profile persons, heads of state, and celebrities—the authors will be the first to examine the murder of Brian Thompson in detail, and use the lessons learned from that attack (and others) to illustrate how protective intelligence-led security can be used to identify threats and prevent attacks.
“The authors are among the pioneers of the art and science of protective intelligence, and their substantial experience in both public and private settings readily informs their analysis of this landmark case and the targeting phenomenon.”
— Jim Hutton, former Chief Security Officer at Fortune 30 corporations
“In each case, Burton and Stewart highlight important lessons we can learn. Whether protection has been your business for more than 40 years, or you are looking to enhance the safety of your home and family, this book will be an engaging and informative read.”
— Ken Senser, Chief Strategy Officer and Partner, Corporate Security Advisors
“Executives are recognizing that there is a great need for better awareness and countermeasures. Fred and Scott are masters in the field and offer appropriate recommendations to improve situational awareness and requirements to ensure safety and Security. It’s my pleasure to recommend this work highly.”
— Greg Bujac, Former VP of Corporate Security at Philip Morris and Former Director of the Diplomatic Security Service
“Scott Stewart and Fred Burton, using their many years of collective experience, through their excellent book, have shown how to gather, analyze, and apply intelligence to create high quality security profiles!”
— Chuck Vance, former Special Agent US Secret Service, Founder of Vance International
About The Authors
Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost experts on protective intelligence, global security, and terrorism. He is a former State Department counterterrorism deputy chief and DSS special agent.
Burton is the author of his memoir "Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent", "Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent’s Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice", the coauthor with Samuel M. Katz of the New York Times bestseller "Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi," and most recently the co-author of "Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah's War Against America", to be released in paperback in September 2025. He also is a contributing author to "The Routledge Companion to Terrorism Studies" focused on the history of the Black September Organization.
Burton is also an advisor to several companies, to include Ontic, 360Privacy, Centerseat and Altr.
Scott Stewart is the Vice President of Protective Intelligence at TorchStone Global. He is a seasoned protective intelligence practitioner with over 40 years of analytical, investigative and security experience. Scott led Stratfor’s global analysis of terrorism and security topics from 2004 to 2020.
Before joining Stratfor, he was a special agent with the U.S. State Department for 10 years and was involved in hundreds of terrorism and protective intelligence investigations. Most notably, he was the lead State Department investigator assigned to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the follow-up New York City bomb plot.
Scott also served as the protective intelligence coordinator for Dell and served as a team leader on Michael Dell's executive protective team. Scott is a popular speaker and is frequently interviewed by leading media outlets. He has been recognized as a "protective intelligence pioneer" by Ontic's Center for Protective Intelligence.