Phil Hopkins: Focusing on Consumer and Brand Protection
After 20 years spent focusing on financial crimes investigations in the Secret Service, Phil Hopkins, Vice President of Global Security at Western Union (WU), found transitioning to the financial area of the private sector to be pretty painless. “A lot of what we do is engaging with law enforcement, so I am still able to maintain and enhance those relationships and work with the state and federal law enforcement agencies much as I had done when I was in the Secret Service,” says Hopkins. “I really like that part of what I do.”
The Global Security team’s mission at Western Union is to protect the brand and its consumers, support the business, and provide a safe and secure work environment for employees. A big chunk of meeting the first two goals involves cultivating those relationships with law enforcement and letting them know his team is there to help with outreach programs that educate both law enforcement and consumers on current email and phone scams. “The insight we offer the business is to look at things from a different perspective and point out potential issues that the business may not be considering,” Hopkins says.