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Inside SECURITY 500: Reinventing Security Leadership

Listen to Will Bernhjelm, Mall of America Vice President of Security, in this podcast episode.

By Rachelle Blair-Frasier, Editor in Chief

SEC Podcast Header Will Bernhjelm — Photo via Bernhjelm

In this episode of Lock It Down with Security Magazine, I speak with Will Bernhjelm, Mall of America Vice President of Security, and the 2025 SECURITY 500 Conference Morning Keynote Speaker, about his career, the security industry and the upcoming Security 500 Conference. In this role, Bernhjelm focuses on keeping the Mall’s 32 million visitors a year safe. During his tenure, he has significantly evolved the security strategy, positioning Mall of America as a leader in the industry.

In this episode, Bernhjelm shares insights from his 23-year career, including lessons learned from military service, the evolution of the Mall of America's multilayered security strategy, and the balance between safety and guest experience. He also gives listeners a sneak-peek into his upcoming keynote presentation at SECURITY 500.

For nearly two decades the SECURITY 500 Conference has brought together top security executives and government leaders for a day of powerful keynotes, panels, and networking.

This one-day leadership conference is open exclusively to security executives, senior management, and their direct reports in both the private and public sectors. Check out Security500.com for more details.

"I think that there is this odd perception out there that there's this mythical 'Silver Bullet' in security that's going to fix everything in the world and make everything okay," Bernhjelm says. "There is no such thing as 100% security. If there was one thing that would keep us all safe, we'd all be doing it, and we wouldn't be sitting here having these conversations and collaborations. There is no such thing as 100% security... there is no one thing that's going to keep us all safe. It's multiple things working in conjunction with one another to help accomplish the mission."

Inside SECURITY 500: Reinventing Security Leadership

Will Bernhjelm, Mall of America Vice President of Security, and the 2025 SECURITY 500 Conference Morning Keynote Speaker, talks about his career, the security industry and the upcoming conference.

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Rachelle Blair-Frasier is Security magazine’s Editor in Chief. Blair-Frasier handles eMagazine features, as well as writes and publishes online news and web exclusives on topics including physical security, risk management, cybersecurity and emerging industry trends. She helps coordinate multimedia content and manages Security magazine's social media presence, in addition to working with security leaders to publish industry insights. Blair-Frasier brings more than 15 years of journalism and B2B writing and editorial experience to the role.