WHO WE ARE

Arik Kotkowski Baca is the founder and CEO of SRG Risk. He specializes in geopolitical risk, security risk, and intelligence, and advises executives on political instability, organized crime, and threats to people, assets, and operations in complex environments.

Arik spent seven years at Control Risks in Frankfurt, where he advised Fortune 500 and Mittelstand clients across German speaking Europe on political risk, business resilience, and cyber threat intelligence. His work focused on helping boards and senior leadership understand exposure in volatile markets and protect investments against political and security threats.
 

He studied counter terrorism at Reichman University in Israel, where he also conducted open source intelligence research with the International Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT).
 

In Mexico City, Arik advised enterprises on intelligence and security, managed operations spanning security, stakeholder mapping, and political analysis, and supported clients operating in high risk environments across Latin America. Alongside his risk work, he has led management consulting engagements focused on business growth, restructuring, and operational efficiency for companies in Mexico, the United States, and Europe.
 

Arik is also the founder of Telaran Intelligence Systems, an intelligence platform in development that maps stakeholders and networks, connects open source findings to risk exposure, and identifies the gaps that require human collection and analysis.
 

Raised between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Arik has lived and worked in Mexico, Germany, Israel, China, and Estonia, and speaks 6+ languages. He holds a B.A. in International Relations and Counter Terrorism from Reichman University, a master's in international business from Hult International Business School (Shanghai and Boston), and a master's in project management from the University of Barcelona.

Manaces Arteaga is a protective services and executive protection professional whose career spans international assignments and borderland engagements. Recognized as one of the top certified executive protection specialists in the Southwest, he brings a grounded understanding of security shaped by decades of firsthand experience in demanding environments. His work has been defined by discretion, discipline, and steadiness under pressure, qualities essential to protecting principals whose safety cannot be left to chance.

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Mr. Arteaga built his foundation with the New Mexico State Police before assuming responsibility for the personal security of Governor Bill Richardson, leading protective operations throughout the Governor's tenure and travels, and continuing with the Richardson Foundation in the years that followed. His experience has since taken him across some of the most complex and high risk settings in the world, including Mexico, Africa, and North Korea, where he managed protection in environments that demanded exceptional planning, cultural awareness, and composure. Over the course of his career he has developed a rare command of advance work, threat assessment, and close protection at the highest levels.

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Now leading the executive protection consultancy and advisory practice within our group, Mr. Arteaga is focused on bringing that same standard of protection to clients operating across the borderlands and beyond. His work reflects a belief that sound security is the foundation on which leaders, institutions, and enterprises are able to move with confidence, and that protecting people and principals is ultimately about enabling them to lead, build, and operate without fear.