Interview with:
Mark Hjelle
Chief Executive Officer, Protos Security
Mark is an experienced Chief Executive Officer and Board Member who has led large national business and facilities services firms for nearly 25 years delivering strong top- and bottom-line growth while building high-performing teams with strong culture.
Mark Hjelle, Protos CEO, Featured in SecurityInfoWatch.com Interview
Key Highlights
- Protos Security is celebrating its 20th anniversary at ISC West 2026 with a new AI-powered operational intelligence tool and booth #24131.
- The company challenges traditional guard models by emphasizing transparency, responsiveness, and outcome-based services through a technology-enabled platform.
- Protos has shifted from a labor-heavy approach to a scalable, network-driven platform that offers real-time data, billing accuracy, and proactive risk management.
- A key differentiator is Protos’ extensive off-duty law enforcement network, which is actively cultivated to ensure operational alignment and community support.
Mark Hjelle, the CEO of Protos Security, has been challenging the traditional legacy models of guarding and monitoring industries for years. He asserts that traditional contract guarding lacks transparency, consistency, and responsiveness. After extensive time in the field, he says the gaps are not theoretical; that “guard companies are a dime a dozen,” leading to market saturation and systematic inefficiencies.
For decades, contract guarding has operated on a fundamentally local, labor-centric model, one that many enterprise security leaders now view as increasingly misaligned with modern risk realities.
