Mary Davidson
As a Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, Mary Davidson protected four Presidents of the United States. In 2002, she joined Jim Davidson at Davidson Strategic Resources, the company now known as Davidson Global Security.
Most recently Ms. Davidson served as VP of Security Operations for the West Coast branch of NBCUniversal. From October 2014 through April 2018 she managed and coordinated a global security program for Universal Studios’ production operations: film, cable and TV, as well as Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park, CityWalk, DreamWorks campus, Fandango and NBC-owned news stations in the western US. She returned to Davidson Global security in May of 2018.
Secret Service Career
Mary Davidson was assigned to offices in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. She provided protection for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, and she has supervised protection for international heads of state on their visits to the United States.
She supervised an investigation into counterfeiting of currency in Bogota and Cali, Colombia, which resulted in the suppression of one-third of all the counterfeit currency originating outside the United States.
Mary Davidson supervised security for Presidential inaugurations, the UN General Assembly, and the international conference of the World Trade Organization. She served as Supervisory Special Agent for investigations and protection, Physical Fitness Coordinator, Confidential Informant Coordinator, Confidential Funds Financial Management Coordinator, and Intelligence Coordinator.
She has provided training in defensive tactics, physical protection, and executing search warrants to Secret Service agents and personnel of other domestic and international law enforcement agencies, including the Israeli Secret Service (Shin Bet).
Mary Davidson was twice nominated by the Secret Service for the federal Outstanding Law Enforcement Employees.
Davidson Global Security
Since retiring from the Secret Service, Ms. Davidson and her husband, Jim Davidson, have operated Davidson Global Security, a private firm that has provided protection for Fortune 100 companies, business executives, film-industry figures, and world-ranked athletes. She has personally provided protection for top corporate executives.
As a principal of Davidson Global Security, Ms. Davidson supervised security at many domestic and international events and venues, including the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
In 2010, Ms. Davidson was Security Director for the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program, working on board the M/V Explorer with 600 university students while traveling to 17 countries on four continents. In 2012, she served as Deputy Director of Security for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
For several years, Ms. Davidson has conducted employee background investigations for a variety of clients, including the Secret Service and the U.S. Department of State. Her ongoing clients include the Secret Service and a number of private companies. She lectures on security topics for business, organizations, and universities.
Ms. Davidson holds a Top Secret Clearance.
Related Background
Ms. Davidson received her bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from the University of Maryland and completed the International Criminal Justice Program of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She has extensive training in investigative techniques, firearms and marksmanship, chemical and biological weapons, defensive driving, workplace threat management, culture diversity and discrimination, fire orientation, and bomb detection. She is certified in advanced SCUBA, is a Coast Guard-certified rescue swimmer, and is trained in emergency medicine.