Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 12, 2026 3 Deal Watch United Security CEO Frank Consoli with Christine Gelatt, the company's chief financial officer and chairman, in downtown Hartford. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever Guarded Expansion United Security opens Hartford office as CT growth accelerates Frank Consoli II and George Guilfoy, executives at a much larger security firm who were looking to start their own company. The two later bought out Gelatt's partners. At the time Consoli and Guilfoy came on board, United Security employed about 400 people, gener- ated about $3.5 million in annual revenue and was headquartered in Staten Island. Frank Consoli — who is based in the Fairfield office and is Justin Consoli's father — pushed the firm to expand into commercial real estate security work, and the business "blew up from there," Gelatt said. "We're going to be exceeding $100 million (in revenue) next year," Frank Consoli said. "So, it's a story of entre- preneurship, grinding it out, family and career-oriented professionals. … We are in the top 30 companies out of 8,000 security firms." United Security's Connecticut business has also expanded quickly, growing from 184 employees and about $7 million in in-state revenue in 2019, to 513 employees and roughly $20 million in 2025. The company projects about 10% annual growth in Connecticut-based revenue over the next several years, a factor behind its decision to open a Hartford office, Justin Consoli said. Private-sector opportunity Frank Consoli, who earned a crim- inal justice degree from New Hamp- shire's St. Anselm College in 1992, began his career working overnight shifts at a small White Plains, New York, security firm, making $19,000 a year and traveling across New York City and Westchester County to check guard posts and fill in as needed. Over time, Consoli rose through the ranks, moving from small, fami- ly-owned firms to a leadership role at one of the world's largest security companies. By age 30, he was a vice president and general manager overseeing Connecticut, New Jersey and Westchester County, with 5,000 employees reporting to him. Consoli said he and Guilfoy, who worked with him previously, wanted to run their own company and move away from corporate boardrooms and mergers. "We got tired of lawyers and spending time behind closed doors," Consoli said. "We missed being out in the field, where we could value people." At United Security, Consoli and Guilfoy, who is now retired, shifted the company's focus toward private- sector security work, while continuing to pursue government contracts. "We put together a marketing plan that was going to attack the private sector and grow our government sector at the same time," Consoli said. "Christine had a great company that she started, which was focused By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com U nited Security Inc., a New Jersey-based security services firm with a growing Connecticut presence and about 1,800 employees nationwide, has opened a downtown Hartford office, adding to its existing Fairfield location. The 33-year-old company, which generates nearly $100 million in annual revenue, is leasing a 1,500-square-foot office in the Stark Building, positioning the firm near existing and potential clients, including corporate headquar- ters, commercial office buildings and state government offices. "We're able to walk to potential prospects that we're meeting with and to contacts around the area as well," said Justin Consoli, the company's corporate strategy and operations manager. He operates out of United Security's Hartford, Fairfield and Boston offices. The move comes as office land- lords in Hartford and other cities grapple with elevated vacancy rates tied to the post-pandemic shift toward remote work. United Security, however, said it sees opportunity in that environment. In addition to traditional manned guarding, the company provides technology-based security services, including remote building moni- toring, which Consoli said can reduce the need for around-the-clock on-site staffing and lower costs for property owners. Around the time United Security opened its Hartford office, the firm secured a contract to provide security for Constitution Plaza, according to Matt Lofaro, United Security's regional director of operations for the Mid-Atlantic and New England. United Security estimates there is about $30 million in annual manned security work in downtown Hartford, excluding electronic surveillance and cybersecurity services, making the city an attractive market, Lofaro said. Growth strategy United Security was founded in 1992 by Christine Gelatt — now the company's chief financial officer and chairman — along with three retired New York City police officers, using a $17,000 startup budget. "None of us took paychecks prob- ably until the beginning of the third year," Gelatt recalled. At the time, she relied on her husband as the family's primary breadwinner. During its first 13 years, the company built a client base heavily weighted toward government security contracts. In 2005, as Gelatt's orig- inal partners prepared to retire, an insurance broker connected her with AT A GLANCE United Security Inc. Industry: Security services Top Executives: Frank Consoli, CEO; Christine Gelatt, Chairman/CFO HQ: New Jersey CT Offices: Hartford, Fairfield Employees: About 1,800 Website: unitedsecurityinc.com Continued on next page

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