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Brett Mosheim is finding life in Hong Kong relatively sedate. Barely five months ago he was confined for three weeks to a military compound in al-Amara, Iraq, under constant attack from Sadr militia.

Now the New Zealander, 33, is a risk management specialist - the industry term for a bodyguard. He has come to Hong Kong to head up a  company that trains security personnel.

Mr Mosheim began his career in New Zealand's special forces and has since spent 10 years working as a bodyguard.

During his time with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, he served in  a small team charged with protecting diplomats, military officers  and engineers - one of 25,000 private military employees  in the country.

Mostly ex-military, or ex-police, they were the biggest contributors to the US-led occupation  outside the military.

He said  many local security personnel were not using up-to-date techniques   and newly trained bodyguards were ill-equipped to handle  a 'hot' situation.

An opportunity to return to the classroom arose when  Loki Risk Management offered to make him a partner if he took over the firm's training programme.

Established three years ago in Hong Kong, the company was using  a business model based on lengthy courses.

Despite high-profile clients such as the Macau police, and backing from the World Federation of Bodyguards, it  had struggled to build a brand.

Many of the traditional bodyguard training courses are lengthy and expensive, and lead students to believe they will walk into jobs at the end of the course.

Mr Mosheim is shifting the focus from the traditional two to three-week protection programmes to much shorter and  less expensive courses.

The training has been broken down into four levels, starting with an introductory course that offers trainees a chance to sample the work and decide if it is right for them. 'If they like it they can carry on, but if they don't, they are free to walk away,' he says.

Most of the trainees are likely to be people already working in the industry who are looking to upgrade their skills. The company also offers safety and security courses to chauffeurs, domestic staff and business executives.

'People don't seem to care until it is too late about their personal security and safety,' Mr Mosheim says. 'Statistics in China and Hong Kong are quite scary, especially in terms of kidnap and ransom.'

Until Mr Mosheim arrived, Loki Risk Management had been running with low overheads and no  organised marketing plan.

Now,  with an office space and reception area in Sheung Wan, they have higher fixed overheads and the pressure is on. The largest business expenses are training materials and flying in the relevant experts for the courses.

They plan to run courses from around $750 for a three-hour executive driver course, up to $300,000 for advanced operational training.

'I think what we are offering is totally different and it's actually quite new, and I believe once we start getting it out there then other companies will copy and then we will have competition,' Mr Mosheim says.



Former soldier brings experience to HK security role