Rachel Webb is a Chartered Security Professional and Professional Doctorate candidate in Security Risk Management. With a background rooted in military intelligence, Rachel’s journey from disciplined strategist to creative entrepreneur has been anything but conventional.
Now as Chief Commercial Officer at The Keyholding Company and the driving force behind its new TKC Consult division, she is on a mission to revolutionise the way organisations approach risk management.
Rachel Webb is not your typical security expert. Not strictly in terms of her background (she trod the well-worn path from the military into security), but in who she is and how she operates.
When she isn’t hard at work, you will find her walking her dog (a firm favourite in our London HQ), planning weekend trips with the family or sharing a cold drink with friends.
But at her core, she is a passionate advocate for the security industry. To prove her commitment to shaping the industry’s future, she went through the rigorous process to become a Chartered Security Professional last year. Only 10% of the group are female, which speaks volumes about her determination and character.
Rachel is the Chief Commercial Officer at The Keyholding Company (TKC), and aside from providing a rocket fuel-esque spark into our service growth since her arrival, she is building something rather exciting…
Rachel has introduced a brand-new division at TKC: TKC Consult. The mission? To permanently change the way risk analysis and security management are conducted through a disruptive combination of industry-leading technology and a diverse team of expert security consultants.
To understand why Rachel has created this groundbreaking solution, let’s rewind to the beginning.
A potted history
Rachel spent 12 years in the military, building up her foundational experience and training in the Intelligence Corps, specialising in security risk management. She was deployed across operations and strategic planning roles, spanning spells in counter-terrorism and counter-espionage, then as an Instructor at the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre.
Like many who served, Rachel found her corporate calling in security, drawing on her expertise to take the first steps on the private sector ladder as a threat intelligence expert. Contracts in intelligence and business resilience for international banks saw Rachel’s focus transition from national security to cost-based asset protection and a new challenge emerged: how could she help organisations reduce costs without compromising risk?
With a keen eye for opportunity and a thirst for knowledge, she carved out a career as a Risk Assurance Consultant, quickly rising through the ranks at Mitie. She spent six years honing her craft, establishing herself as a trusted advisor in the creation of new security design and commercial tenders.
I loved the varied and fast-paced nature of consulting, particularly working across so many different sectors. I was there to help, to quickly identify solutions and to positively impact security outcomes.
Rachel Webb
The seed of an idea
As Rachel was air-dropped into more contracts and tender opportunities, common themes recurred, and the inherent limitations of existing risk management practices became glaringly apparent.
Each organisation would have different processes and systems, which they would often build themselves for ease and cost-efficiency. Fragmented strategies and tired, paper-based reports led to inconsistencies and missed opportunities for comprehensive analysis. The lack of actionable, business-case-ready data made it challenging to view the security of a portfolio holistically, and it was hard to scale a company-wide risk strategy.
Following the terror attack at Manchester Arena in 2017, there was a pivotal shift in the security culture landscape, sparking discussions around mandatory risk assessments.
Rachel saw an opportunity and identified the need for a more dynamic, forward-thinking and digitally advanced approach to the risk management process, so she set out to develop a solution that would make risk assessment more standardised, accessible, and scalable across portfolios.
The idea becomes reality
Rachel is currently conducting her Doctorate in Security Risk Management, with her thesis asking if it is possible to build a tool that empowers anyone – not just a risk professional – to produce a competent risk assessment report, to meet the growing requirement to deliver risk assessments at scale.
At TKC, Rachel found a place to bring her ideas (and thesis) to life. She began consulting for TKC in 2022 and quickly found herself part of a security company that was disruptive and looking for proactive, tech-led solutions to industry issues.
Within a year, TKC Consult was born.
Working hand-in-hand with our award-winning tech team and her expert team of security consultants, Rachel has brought her vision to life.
Her groundbreaking new solution is a cloud-based approach to risk management that challenges the status quo and provides a reliable, quantitative approach to physical security planning and decision-making.
The best part? The digital approach will empower our clients to take creative control of their security outcomes and help reduce spend without compromising protection.
Portfolios of any size can be analysed in a fraction of the time by any professional person following standardised, guided assessments replicating NPSA best practice security guidelines. The risk dashboard then provides an over-arching view of vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of security measures.
This approach allows clients to adjust the threat level and trigger real-time re-evaluations, meaning they can continually flex to direct their investments towards high-risk areas and spend budget effectively without compromising risk.
Rachel’s vision
Looking ahead, Rachel’s vision for TKC Consult is as bold as it is inspiring. With a focus on continuous innovation and client-centric solutions, she is looking to reshape the future of risk management and create holistic understanding of what good protection entails.
For Rachel, this means an emphasis on integrated, layered portfolio protection rather than specific products or services, and empowering clients to spend money and deploy resource based on data-driven insight.
With the winning combination of technology and the collective expertise of her team, Rachel is building more than just a consultancy service; she is paving the way for a new era of security, in which creativity and innovation reign supreme.
Risk management with a difference
If you want to work with a team of forward-thinking risk experts to transform your security outcomes, we’d love to hear from you.
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