2012 Security 500 Leader Profiles

Eric Levine, Vice President & Director, Corporate Security

Putting the Customer First

“Our structure isdriven by risk,” explains Eric Levine, Vice President and Director of Corporate Security for WellPoint. “If there is no risk then we are not involved. When we do identify risks or threats, we work to mitigate them.” Two years ago, security moved from being a shared service within operations to the General Counsel’s office due to the recognition of its importance and its international business role.

“Our primary goal was to get in front of issues and changing the reporting relationship was one of the best ways to help do that. Reporting to an executive level leader, especially our General Counsel who has a widespread understanding of risk and potential impact facing the industry and our organization enabled us to further advance our security initiatives. For example, in 2012 we further developed our International capabilities in the Corporate Situational Awareness and Response Center (CSARC) or command center, which now touches our business in so many ways beyond just security from travel support to potential business disruptions,” explains Levine.

Levine joined the company in 2008 and became the first global Head of Security with the office centralized including physical, technical, procedural and travel security and the CSARC. WellPoint is one of the largest health benefit companies in the United States, including well-known brands as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anthem Life Insurance and Empire BlueCross BlueShield. “Our security organization is tightly aligned with our company mission to improve the lives of the people we serve and the health of our communities,” says Levine. And the security organization does so by applying WellPoint’s core values including continuous improvement, integrity and most of all, putting the customer first.

“We are currently a stable security organization moving toward being a mature organizational model,” he says. “We are hiring and placing experts in key positions to identify risk and be able to take action.” Today, his team gathers information and intelligence to identify risk issues and integrates them into the CSARC, which he describes as 70 percent fusion center and 30 percent command center. “For example, we work with NC4, a situational awareness information provider who proactively sends us information on events. We integrate that into CSARC to map events to where our people and our facilities are,” he explains.

The CSARC has assisted in solving a homicide and assisted in providing a safer work environment for associates and visitors. WellPoint’s recent physical security upgrade stopped trespassers at our facilities, eliminating both a risk and the cost of response. So the return is measurable and positive.

“A focus on security awareness is important, and we’re looking at security from all angles – workplace violence, travel security and crisis management,” Levine says. “This also includes communicating with our stakeholders about the risks we have identified and educating them on how to reduce risk and improve security,” says Levine. “Security must work across the organization to enable business units to succeed. There are many ways to address a security risk. The key is finding the right answer that helps the business and eliminates the threat.”

From an ROI perspective, the greatest value for WellPoint is an intangible. “First and foremost, people have peace of mind in a broad sense because security has gotten in front and prevented events from happening,” Levine says. “There is a clear, ‘Glad you are there’ perspective among our employees and visitors. Our recent internal survey showed that 95 percent felt safe and the 5 percent that answered ‘no’ were referring to areas outside of security’s control,” he shares.

“Our management expects us to deliver a reduction in risk across the work environment by security being embedded within business functions, thereby helping advance business goals. That is what makes this job great. WellPoint has the most collaborative and fantastic people. Building the business is rewarding, but the interaction with great people at WellPoint is what makes this job so very enjoyable.”

When not at work, Levine is an admitted Foodie who likes good restaurants. He is also a philatelist and greatly enjoys traveling with his family. Prior to joining the private sector, Levine was a special agent with the United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security and was also responsible for embassy security on long-term assignments in Tel Aviv, Israel and Kathmandu, Nepal. He is affiliated with the International Security Management Association (ISMA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and ASIS International.

If he were not the Head of Security, he says that would have become either an attorney or an architect.