In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg famously stated that privacy was no longer a “social norm.” Today, the Facebook founder is no doubt viewing social norms around privacy a bit differently, as are U.S. regulators and consumers.

Armed with a background in both military and law enforcement experience, Bernard Robinson weaved his way through a variety of roles, including homicide, SWAT, sex crimes and special ops, before a colleague told him he’d be a great leader in the hospitality sector.

“For many people who work in enterprise security, there’s no straight line to get there. That was my situation, too,” says Jerry Loghry, AVP Corporate Security & Safety for EMC Insurance Companies.

Not only does a law enforcement pedigree run in W.P. Chedester’s family, he’s the third generation of his family to work in the police department at West Virginia University (WVU) located in Morgantown, a small city in north-central West Virginia.

Beginning her career as a municipal police department dispatcher, Eileen Behr worked her way through various divisions and assignments over the course of 32 years – including accident and traffic, tactical negotiator, juvenile, investigations and emergency management coordinator – to eventually become the first female police chief in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. After the sudden death of the Montgomery County sheriff in 2011, Behr was appointed sheriff.

When it comes to a top-notch security program, good relationships with external entities are paramount to success. It’s a concept Josh Ball, Director of Public Safety at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) in Louisville, Kentucky, has prioritized.

Which security programs are leading the way? These 500 enterprises have been ranked through metrics to determine the forerunners in 20 sectors.

The Security 500 tracks 20 vertical markets and collects unique data where appropriate (such as number of unique facilities in healthcare) and applies this data to key metrics.