After 9/11, Security Changed Forever: How Brad Eggert Built Consulting for Modern Events

In this episode of The Security Equation, Dan Donovan sits down with Brad Eggert, now Vice President of Consulting at Stratoscope Holdings. (Note: During this recording, Brad held the title Senior Director of Client Experience on the consulting side; he has since been promoted to Vice President of Consulting following this conversation.)

Brad's journey into events security is unique—he grew up thinking he'd work in minor league baseball but instead became obsessed with large-scale event management. After earning his degree in sport management, he interned with the Southeastern Conference and landed a full-time position in Lake Placid, New York. But his career was forever shaped by being in the planning cycle for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics when 9/11 occurred.

"Everything took this security focus priority," Brad recalls. "That was really my first experience with all of that."

Since then, Brad has worked on an incredible breadth of events: golf tournaments, rodeos in Wyoming, tech conferences, the reopening of Manchester Arena after the Ariana Grande tragedy, and dozens of corporate and entertainment events. He's been instrumental in building Stratoscope's consulting division from the ground up—and his role has evolved from being an event lead to now managing a team of consultants who bring operational expertise to every client engagement.

The conversation explores what separates consulting from security contracting. Most clients assume they're getting security guards and experienced guard managers. But Stratoscope does something different: they sit down with clients and ask the questions no guard company is asking.

Dan and Brad discuss:

The consulting differentiator: Understanding event makeup, clientele, venue perimeter, arrival profiles, ingress/egress flows—not just "what time" and "how many"

The credential problem: Why security needs to be involved in seemingly non-security decisions like credential design, and why clients resist this until they understand

The Chicago moment: The breakthrough moment when a production company finally realizes the consultant is looking at problems faster than their own team because of a "different lens"

Crowd management chaos: The escalator/door bottleneck—when a 55,000-person event space only has 2 escalators to get there, how do you manage 10,000 people starting and ending at the same time in hallways designed for 2,000?

Computer modeling for safety: Using technology to show clients why staggered start times and alternating rooms aren't bureaucracy—they're attendee safety

From contractor to team leader: The mental shift from building client relationships to building team relationships and coaching consultants

The variety of events: Why experience across golf, rodeos, tech conferences, and arena reopenings creates problem-solvers who can help any client

Brad also shares some colorful event stories: the chaotic Uber event across Las Vegas (which he describes as "a little bit of craziness"), the Beyoncé helicopter arrival at the Palms, and how working with programming teams requires going "way inside the perimeter" to understand total event flow.

At its core, Brad's philosophy is: Security isn't about saying no. It's about understanding what the client is trying to accomplish and then helping them accomplish it safely. "We're looking out for you. We're looking out for me as your client," as one breakthrough client finally realized.

Essential listening for event organizers, production companies, venue operators, corporate event planners, and anyone responsible for large-scale gatherings.

Would you be interested in learning more about Stratoscope?

Check out our website: https://stratoscope.com/