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America Back to Work: Arnette Heintze, S2Verify
How to Think Like a Secret Service Agent
November 22, 1963. June 6, 1968. April 30, 1981. September 11, 2001
All of these dates led to the creation of S2Verify in some way. Witnessing some of the major events in US history that occurred on these dates—including the assassinations of JFK and RFK and the attempted assassination of Raegen—inspired Arnette Heintze, co-founder of S2Verify, to dedicate 21 years of his life to the Secret Service. When he pivoted to entrepreneurship, background screening was an obvious next step.
In this episode of America Back to Work, we flip the script and interview Arnette Heintze, who usually asks the questions.
Arnette is the chief strategy officer at S2Verify and an accomplished entrepreneur. He shares the inspiring and pivotal moments of his illustrious career. We delve into his journey from serving at the highest levels of federal law enforcement, including the Secret Service, to establishing successful businesses in the security sector.
His story will give listeners valuable insights into HR best practices, background screening, and corporate security.
Key Topics Discussed
- Arnette’s journey from local law enforcement to joining the Secret Service in 1983, along with his experience in protecting U.S. Presidents and other dignitaries.
- Founding Hillard Heintze with former Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard.
- Insights into the creation of S2Verify with partners Bill Whitford and Jim Zimbardi.
- The significance of pre-employment background checks in safeguarding company assets and employees.
- Best practices for continuous or ongoing screening to monitor employees’ evolving backgrounds (00:18:20).
- Lessons learned from the non-fail mission mentality of the Secret Service.
- Tips on managing risk, threats, and vulnerabilities in the business environment.
- Recommendations on building a business based on vision, mission, value proposition, and core beliefs.
- Suggested readings and authors for aspiring entrepreneurs, including Michael Porter, Ram Charan, Jim Collins, and Simon Sinek.
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S2Verify is one of the leading, privately held, pre-employment background screening companies in the United States.
Arnette Heintze is co-founder and chief strategy officer at S2Verify. Before establishing S2Verify, Arnette spent more than three decades working at the highest levels of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
He served more than 20 years in the United States Secret Service as a special agent and senior executive,—oØ where he planned, designed, and implemented security strategies to protect U.S. Presidents, world leaders, events of national significance, and our nation’s most sensitive assets, including financial infrastructure.
After retiring from the Secret Service, Arnette focused on building the growth and performance of innovative start-ups and SMBs. In 2004, he established Hillard Heintze, a globally recognized strategic security risk management and investigations firm.
In 2009, along with Bill Whitford and Jim Zimbardi, Arnette established S2 Verify with an approach and methodology that delivers fast, accurate, compliant, and affordable background screening insights crucial to better managing insider risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.