CEO KATE BRIGHT
CSyP, CInstLM, FRSA
Kate is a Chartered Security Professional with 25 years of frontline private client facing experience in the Private and Family Office sector as a Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant, Chief of Staff and Family Office Manager, moving on to becoming a Close Protection (CP) Operative, and finally a Secure Lifestyle Advisor as CEO & Founder of UMBRA International Group.
UMBRA is a unique Security Concierge and Secure Lifestyle services business, working across the generations of international clients and their families. Under Kate’s leadership, UMBRA is on a mission to make security and the industry more accessible – she kickstarted the UMBRA Academy to underscore the impact and sustainability commitments of the business. She regularly speaks on the topic of Invisible Security, having been asked to deliver a Tedx talk in 2018. She was shortlisted as Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year in the Citywealth awards in 2019.
Kate is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management. She sits on the British Army Gender Advisory Council and is a Liveryman of the City of London.
Kate is an ambassador for the Veteran charities ‘Supporting Wounded Veterans’ and ‘Veterans Aid’. She is also a Trustee of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals Charitable Trust, delivering ‘Kindness In Security’ to those struggling in the security industry, and the Hypatia Foundation, which focusses on gender impact philanthropy. She has a personal interest in making an impact in the areas of reduction of violence against women and girls as well as domestic abuse, and bringing more diversity into the Boardroom. She mentors young people, especially those struggling to find their way.
Kate has lived in Clapham, London for 22 years and is a member of the Clapham Society. When she is not watching sport, particularly rugby, or undertaking a physical challenge for charity, she loves to travel internationally for both work and leisure. She speaks fluent French, and is a Grade 8 pianist and aspiring DJ!
Photograph by Gemma Brunton
As a Chartered Security Professional, Founder and CEO of UMBRA International Group, Kate has unparalleled expertise working with Private and Family Offices as well as the security sector. She is uniquely positioned to deliver and advise on living a Secure Lifestyle and the development of a protected way of living. Her view is that security affects everyone, and that it has a huge impact on everyday health and wellbeing. In life post-COVID-19, this will be even more prevalent.
Kate started her career garnering experience through 15 years as an Executive Assistant to a series of high-net-worth clients. She cultivated her network by founding and leading as Chair of The Network, widely regarded as the UK’s leading network of influential gatekeepers. During this time, whilst working closely with her client’s security teams, Kate underwent extensive SIA Close Protection Training herself. Using the substantial knowledge and experience acquired in both Protection Services and private and family office employment during this time, in 2015 Katie founded the UMBRA International Group.
Though it started as a network of forward-thinking security and protection operatives, UMBRA International Group quickly developed into a globally-recognised and world-leading business, adept at changing quickly with demands of the market. It has become synonymous with discreet, diverse and trusted practices. Kate and her team work to meticulously assess and minimise risk, spearheading the movement to bring traditional security to a broader audience and to extend security awareness into every avenue of modern life.
To date, Kate has managed a collective net worth of over £50bn across her career. Alongside its head office in London, UMBRA International Group has expanded its global capacity to include partnerships in the USA, South Africa, the Middle East and mainland Europe, with a focus on France and Switzerland in that region.
As a leading voice in her industry, Kate is a regular speaker and panel member for the “Secure Lifestyle” movement as incepted by UMBRA International Group. She has hosted round tables and webinars for Mastercard, Magic Circle Firms and many others after her well-received TEDx talk on Invisible Security in 2018.
Outside of the industry, Kate is a passionate supporter of the transition of veterans and ex-professional sportspeople into meaningful civilian life and employment, both professionally and personally. She is a Veterans’ Aid Ambassador and a member of the Supporting Wounded Veterans Committee, and regularly undertakes physical challenges to raise funds for these causes.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Non Executive Director Award Nomination – Dame Helen Alexander NED to Watch 2021
Appointed to the Board of The Security Industry Authority in 2020
Featured in Citywealth’s ‘Leader’s List’ (the Private Client Directory of recommended Advisers)
Citywealth Powerwomen Awards 2019 nominee
Awarded Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management (CInstLM) in 2018
Proud member of the Security Institute & Trustee of The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals
Non-Executive Director of Amatte, a company with a vision to empower Africa’s female farmers
Invisible Security : Can Women Protect Men? | TEDxClapham
5.4% of all [bodyguard] license holders are women. But this statistic doesn’t really tell the story of how useful women are, and how there has been a massive increase in the demand for this invisible protection, for which women are the perfect candidates.
