Roxxy Brown. CEO of Tangent Group International

Roxxy Brown

Providing clients with safety, security, and customer service are three goals every top-tier business aims to achieve; for Tangent Group International, those three principals are just the beginning. Providing executive protection services since its founding in 2015 by David Brown, Tangent Group International’s Roxxy Brown tells a story of rising demand, stretched resources, and explains the company’s core values of “Protect – Secure – Respond.”

Encompassing a wide range of services from protection to medical care, Tangent Group International’s client-centered business is as agile as it is customizable to the unique needs of its varied clientele. As Roxxy Brown details, it isn’t security that Tangent Group’s clients crave – it’s peace of mind. To give them this, the company creates a seamless holistic experience in which security acts as an invisible, impenetrable shield between clients and outside threats.

Describing an ever-changing world in which threats are constantly evolving and corporate responsibilities to its employees and clients are shifting, the growth in security services is a market response to an unpredictable environment. Utilizing cutting-edge technology to hone its services, Tangent Group International employs its own platform called the “Overwatch Project Management Systems” which is proprietary and wholly owned by the firm. Helping the company achieve greater efficiencies and scale, this technology lowers response times and, ultimately, the costs to the end-client.

Noting the military and government police work of many of its employees, Roxxy Brown emphasizes the need to have an adaptive force wherein experience working in hostile environments is an added benefit of Tangent Group’s approach. Serving as CEO of Tangent Group, Roxxy Brown’s professional background actually comes from the oil industry and, later, a career as a deal-making consultant buying and selling multimillion dollar energy assets. Citing the need to find common ground in that diverse, dynamic, and hyper-competitive industry, Roxxy Brown describes to us how this guides her as Tangent Group CEO. 

Roxxy, please tell us about Tangent Group International and how it started.

Tangent Group International was founded in 2015 by David Brown.  At the time, David was a highly sought after executive protection agent in the corporate security world.  And after years of being hands on in the field with the Fortune 500, he couldn’t keep up with demand for his services.  In response, he formed Tangent Group with the ultimate goal of giving his clients safety, security and customer service.

What are some of the services Tangent provides clients?

Our core values are “Protect – Secure – Respond.”  We provide protection of people, both employees and customers, at the office and while they travel.   We secure facilities, buildings and properties that are owned and/or occupied by our clients.  And we respond to emergencies like hostile terminations, natural disasters and even medical emergencies that may arise when we’re with them.

How do these services help clients grow their businesses?

First and foremost, we help our clients grow by giving them peace of mind.  No one wants to be in a position that requires security, but Tangent is known for making our clients feel comfortable and taken care of.   Our goal is always to diffuse any negative situation and that allows our clients to do what they do best without having to worry about outside distractions.

How important is corporate security, and why do businesses need additional security these days?

I think the huge increase in hiring private security is twofold:  First, the world is crazy these days!  Especially after the last few years of lockdowns and viruses, everyone’s emotions are heightened and people’s behavior is less predictable.   This has led to an uptick in thefts and other criminal acts.

But there’s also been a change in how our legal system views an employer’s responsibility to provide a secure workplace.  It’s no longer just about having the proper equipment and working conditions.   We’re now seeing case law being put in place to shield employees from things like harassment, active shootings and severe weather.  It’s understood that if you’re required to come to the office, you should have a reasonable expectation of being safe while you’re there.  And if nothing else good came from the pandemic, at least this is a positive step in the right direction!

Roxxy Brown

Tell us about some of the cutting-edge technology Tangent uses to protect clients.

My background is in oil and gas and that entire industry is heavy on tech.  So when I joined the security arena it was really apparent, really quickly, that they were behind the curve on this one.

I immediately began looking for software that would help us run more efficiently, but it wasn’t out there.  It just didn’t exist!  And the few companies who offered prebuilt options that were widely used just refused to modify and/or add to their programs to accommodate us.  In 2019, with a good understanding of what we needed, we set out to create a custom software which is now a product of its own called “Overwatch® Project Management Systems.”

Overwatch is proprietary and the code is owned solely by Tangent Group.  With it we’re able to real time track our personnel in the field, provide reports as situations are unfolding and automate everything from invoicing to payroll.   It has dramatically decreased our overhead while simultaneously increasing our efficiency.   Our clients now get the benefit of faster response times at a lower bill rate when compared to most other security companies.

Seventy per cent of Tangent’s agents have military, police, and government work experience. Why does Tangent rely on employees with military and government backgrounds?

While it’s not required to work for us, we do understand the advantages that those professions bring to private security.  So many core values that our veterans have (things like honor, a sense of responsibility, calmness in chaotic situations, etc.) are the exact things our clients need when they call us.  Plus, there’s something to be said for having real life experience in hostile environments.  It’s comforting for our client’s when they know our personnel are trained to handle what ever they may need and that’s our number one priority.

Roxxy, what led you to Tangent Group International as its CEO?

You know when you have a great idea, put yourself out there and then go “holy cow, how am I going to do this all myself?”   ha!  That’s where Tangent’s founder, David, was in 2017.   After only 2 years and word of mouth for marketing, there was more work than he could handle and he asked me to join the company in an official capacity.

I had zero security experience and, if I’m being honest, had serious doubts as to what I could even do to help.  But he saw something in me and knew that good business skills translate between industries.

Tell us about some of your work experience before joining the company.

Prior to joining Tangent, I had been in oil and gas for 15 years.  When I tell you I started from the bottom!  I laugh about it now, but I seriously started out making copies and bringing the entire office lunch every day.  It was only thanks to my persistence (i.e. hard headedness) that I was slowly given more responsibilities and worked my way up the ladder.  By the end of my 15 years, I was the owner and CEO of a consulting firm and became a negotiating agent for the world’s largest energy producers.  I’d get calls from across the globe (and at all hours of the day/night) from major companies looking to buy or sell assets.  I was contracted to represent them, sort of like a real estate agent, find someone who needed to buy what they were selling and then I negotiated the deal between the two.

Most importantly though, I learned the value that networking has for any business.  It truly is “who you know” that can make or break you when you’re trying to accomplish big things.

Roxxy Brown

Tangent was named Best in Business in security by Inc. Magazine. How important is it for the company to receive such a prestigious award?

It’s invaluable.  As a young business woman I thought that the key to success was to put my head down, work harder than everyone else and let my work speak for itself.  But what that mindset gets you is rundown, overworked and underappreciated.  It doesn’t matter if you work at a large company or own your own small boutique, you have to be your own cheerleader.

To be recognized as being among the best is not a surprise to me, because I see how hard every single person within the company works.  Trust me – you don’t get that kind of recognition with one good employee or one good executive.  It takes the entire team being amazing to get on lists like that.

But a large part of my job as Tangent’s CEO is to be that cheerleader for us.  And nothing makes me happier than to see everyone get the appreciation they deserve.

How did your experience in the oil and gas sector help prepare you for working with Tangent Group International?

I learned so many valuable lessons from my previous career that I still use every day.  Things like being organized, how to find common ground with people who are totally different than me and the necessity of being respectful about how your client needs things done.

In all honesty though, the biggest education I received was how valuable it is to be a connector.  I still get calls from old colleagues in oil who ask for help getting a meeting with someone and I’m happy to do that for them because relationships are everything to me.  I’ve always been that girl who makes friends easily and can talk to a stranger on the street, but oil and gas taught me how to use those connections to my advantage.

If I could give any young person advice on what to prioritize working on, it would be people skills.  Learn how to negotiate, how to strike up conversations, how to find people with strengths you’re lacking.   Those are things that will help you in every area of your life and are how I’ve made it this far.

Roxxy, how is a day in your life?

My day usually starts at 8am.  I like to wake up, drink some coffee and sit in the quiet for a bit before I start replying to emails.   I’ve never been a morning person and really used to beat myself up about it.  Especially when every self-help book in existence tells you the key to being successful is to wake up earlier than everyone else.  But as I’ve matured and become more confident in my abilities, I’ve learned to let all of that advice go.  Allowing myself time to get adequate sleep and to start my day when my brain is fully functioning makes me much more effective at what I do.

By 9:30 I’m at my desk responding to emails and checking off to-dos from the list that I made for myself the day before.  I still have a paper calendar hanging on my wall and a notebook that I keep with me 24/7 where I can write things down.  There’s something about the act of physically writing that helps me commit things to memory.

I typically eat a late lunch at my desk at around 1pm and it’s usually whatever someone hands me.  I’m not a picky eater and it’s more about keeping my energy up for the afternoon.  While I eat, my assistant and I go over my schedule and discuss anything he needs to handle for me that I didn’t get done that morning.

The afternoons I typically devote to meetings and checking in with clients.  It usually ends up being a mix of phone calls and in person time with my teams.  We go over marketing strategies, events we have coming up and brainstorming for future projects.  Despite being a hands-on manager, I hate micromanaging.  So, everyone who works with me has to be self sufficient and able to organize their time wisely.   I’ll settle on what I need everyone to do and then we revisit in a week or two to see their progress.

Normally I try to get up from my desk by around 4pm.  That’s just my limit, mentally, on being able to focus and making good use of my time.

I try to give back as much as I can and I’m a committee member for two nonprofits that work with underserved youth.  One to two evenings per week are devoted to those meetings or events.  On those nights I’m throwing on fresh clothes and running out the door to be somewhere by 6pm.  Otherwise after my workday is done, I’m a homebody and you’ll find me with my husband enjoying our Miami backyard or catching up on our tv shows.

Roxxy Brown

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I’m a big believer in human design.  It combines astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah and Vedic philosophies to help you understand your unique personality.  In my experience it’s incredibly accurate and helps me communicate effectively with other people in my life.

I should have been a psychiatrist or criminal profiler.  Studying people and how they navigate life is fascinating to me.  I’ve never seen a documentary or true crime show I didn’t like.  😉

Choose two of your favorite quotes and write them here

If you don’t like where you are, move.  You are not a tree

Happiness shouldn’t be a goal, it should be a habit

If you had the power to change just one thing in the world, what would it be?

The ability to give everyone a supportive, loving childhood.  I think we, as adults, can handle anything life throws at us if we have a sense of self love and confidence.  And those qualities are infinitely easier to develop as a child than on your own as an adult.

To learn more about Roxxy Brown and Tangent Group International please visit https://www.tangentgroup.com

Images credit: Romain Maurice

 

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