Certification Profile: Mykola Mikheiev, CPP, PCI, PSP 

Mykola Mikheiev, CPP, PCI, PSP, was trained as a military officer in the later years of the USSR and served during the confederation’s dissolution. After the Soviet Union broke into its 15 member states in 1991, the need for soldiers in Mikheiev’s native Ukraine also decreased, and Mikheiev was transferred to a role in law enforcement at the federal level. In the following years, Mikheiev worked in the Ukranian Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Bureau of INTERPOL, the State Customs Service, and was deployed to various conflict areas. 

After more than 21 years of government service, Mikheiev decided to retire from public service and begin a career in the private sector in Iraq. Mikheiev was first introduced to ASIS International in 2015 while working at a security subcontracting company for intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) in Afghanistan. There, he met some members of the ASIS UK Chapter, and Mikheiev decided to join ASIS in the fall of 2015. 

Mikheiev is incredibly grateful for and proud of his membership in ASIS. Mikheiev sees the global network of security practitioners as one connected family. 

“I am a member of a big family of security professionals,” Mikheiev says. “It’s really a feeling of being a member of a family, of people who are thinking the same, who live by the same principles, and who will support you in case of something—an emergency. This is like an assurance that you are not alone in this world and you belong to something bigger.” 

In 2018, Mikheiev was among the first to earn the recently launched Associate Protection Professional (APPⓇ) certification. After completing the APP, Mikheiev felt confident enough to pursue the Certified Protection Professional (CPPⓇ) certification, which he saw as the golden standard of security certification worldwide. Mikheiev passed the exam and received the certification in January 2020.  

After becoming involved with a consultancy for IT companies, Mikheiev thought it may be helpful to earn his Physical Security Professional (PSPⓇ) certification, and later that year he passed the PSP exam. Mikheiev highlighted the value of the ASIS certification grant and the PSP online review in his work towards achieving the PSP certification. Finally, in March 2021, Mikheiev passed the Professional Certified Investigator (PCIⓇ) exam, completing all four ASIS certifications. 

“My certifications helped me to improve my self-esteem and my confidence,” Mikheiev says. 

Mikheiev also noted how his certifications helped open doors for him professionally, allowing him to transition from corporate security to working for IGOs, as well as improving his credibility with consultancy clients. 

After earning his PCI, Mikheiev became the first Eastern European to obtain the ASIS triple crown. 

My certifications helped me to improve my self-esteem and my confidence.

“I’m really proud of being the first-ever Eastern European to achieve triple certification of the ASIS CPP, PSP, and PCI, and being triple crown, Mikheiev said, “But I am also surprised, because Eastern Europe is a really big part of the European family and European Union, and I am really surprised that I am the first ever Eastern European to achieve it.”  

While Mikheiev is proud to have been the first in his region to receive the triple crown, he wants to make sure he is not the last. 

“Through the triple certification of ASIS, I want to bring ASIS standards of security into Ukraine, into Eastern Europe... and incorporate Eastern Europe into the wider European, European Union, and world family,” Mikheiev says. 

Mikheiev is an involved volunteer with his local chapter in Ukraine. He served as the Ukraine chapter treasurer from 2019 to 2021, and he also endeavored to help others achieve certifications, knowing how much they can help one’s security career. At GSX 2022, Mikheiev presented to more than 50 CPP candidates as part of a pre-conference review. He also facilitated a virtual CPP training course for 21 Ukrainian chapter members, funded by a chapter starter kit from the ASIS Foundation. 

Unfortunately, Mikheiev was forced to put some of his security knowledge—particularly his emergency evacuation and crisis management knowledge—to the test when Ukraine was attacked in February 2022. 

“I personally realized the weight and wisdom of the ASIS-promoted standards in emergency planning, business continuity, and risk management,” Mikheiev says. “I applied the learned ASIS principles of an emergency evacuation, business relocation, and mitigating vulnerabilities upon full-scale war starting in Ukraine.” 

Even in the midst of the armed conflict still ongoing in Ukraine, Mikheiev has remained a dedicated ASIS member and volunteer, where he continues to promote the best security standards possible in a war-torn country. 

Emily Callahan is a communications specialist for ASIS International. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.