UMBRA International Group Ltd
UMBRA is a premier private client office dedicated to delivering bespoke protective and proactive security solutions. With services spanning tailored security measures, expert advisory, and trusted recruitment, they ensure a secure lifestyle for individuals and families worldwide, combining decades of experience with a commitment to discretion and peace of mind.
Kate Bright
CEO & Founder
How did it all begin?
In 2013 I saw a clear gap in the provision of what I came to call ‘Invisible Security’ and Secure Lifestyle in all its forms. At the time I was one of only a few women working at Operator level in the security industry, which gave me a unique vantage point. Before founding UMBRA, my years as a gatekeeping Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff showed me how difficult it was to bring together the right holistic security strategy as physical, digital, reputational and emotional risks began to evolve more quickly.
From the moment UMBRA was created, we recognised a huge need to challenge industry norms. We gradually shifted mindsets around the modern private client and their holistic needs, drawing on our team’s deep knowledge and decades of combined experience. Having coined the term ‘Secure Lifestyle’, we quickly saw how it resonated, giving us a recognisable concierge-led USP and underscoring a white-glove approach that traditional security firms struggled to deliver, given how time and labour intensive it is compared to corporate security provision.
Today we are proud that UMBRA has grown into a global business, with our core team based in London and trusted partners across the world, including a sister office in Geneva, Switzerland.
What sets your business apart?
We are the only business globally providing a navigation through the complex and sometimes hard to understand, private security industry. We have brought a new paradigm of ‘Secure Lifestyle’ to an age old industry and are crashing through the stereotypes of what it is to be protected and feel safe.
We work with the world’s most interesting, dynamic and successful people and their families empowering them to take ownership of their feelings of safety, and help them hone their own ability to become more situationally aware in a fast-paced permacrisis world – focusing on education rather than simply a protective sticking plaster.
As a female founded business in a historically male dominated industry we tend to attract a new generation of clients who learn about our unique and future proofed ways to protect them, and who value my journey through the Close Protection world as a woman, from ‘Boots on the Ground to the Boardoom’ – as an Operator myself working with prominent families, and now sitting in governance roles within the industry at governmental level.
The business story is often specifically the reason our client & community hear about, are referred to, and ultimately work with, us.
What is the concept behind your business or the problem you’re solving?
Never before have private clients, (or wider society), been able to navigate the Security sector with ease and understanding. We believe that security should be accessible, timely, acronym free and proportionate to the risks our clients face, and they should be empowered through the process of supporting them. We also believe that if we are able to be more proactive with our services, working in a precrisis way, then we are able to solve problems before they arise. All of this is done in a fairly priced and value driven manner working with some of the most incredible people and service partners that are often unseen.
We are proud to be able to bring the best services and suppliers in a jargon free manner, sitting at our client’s site of the table through times of change to their circumstances. This change can be through relocation, liquidity events, succession or reactive life events that alter our client’s perspective of their risk and emotional safety.
What is your brand vision?
International expansion and Impact are two key pillars of our 5 year strategy.
We formalised our Swiss Partnership in Geneva during the pandemic and having this second base in Europe has given us a unique foothold for clients going through change. We want to continue this so we can better support our clients in the US, Africa, UAE and APAC.
We are proud to work with some of the worlds most impactful leaders and philanthropists who share our vision to create a safer world for everyone through our UMBRA Academy projects which is a big focus for us going forward – and we are delighted to see other companies in the sector following suit and realizing that growing businesses sustainability and with impact at the core is precisely why the modern consumer engages with any business. We are excited as to how we can measure and grow the impact our business is having on helping to be a part of societal inequalities and the future of the planet. B Corp here we come!
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