Shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is ‘wake-up call’ for US corporate security: report

Dozens of security chiefs at major US companies met on a call Wednesday to discuss whether they should beef up their safety protocols after an at-large gunman fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to a report.

Thompson was shot while walking alone from his hotel to a business meeting at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan in what appears to be a targeted attack, police officers said. The CEO’s former security provider said he was shocked Thompson did not have a private security team with bodyguards on Wednesday.

The killing is a wakeup call for corporate security teams, who say they have noticed an uptick in violent threats against business leaders, especially on social media, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“The environment is explosive right now,” former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who consults with companies on security risks, told the Journal. “The threats are evolving and getting more violent.”

Corporate leaders have been the target of violent attacks in the past. Starting in the 1970s, the Unabomber killed three people and injured others by sending explosive packages to airline executives over a two-decade span. A kidnapper abducted and later killed Exxon executive Sidney Reso in the early 1990s. 

But resentment toward corporate America has grown more widespread, with some executives being threatened over their companies’ stance on controversial diversity and inclusion initiatives and the war in Gaza.

“It’s a shock to the system,” Michael Evanoff, a former State Department assistant secretary for diplomatic security, told the Journal. “It’s a wake-up call.”

Thompson’s murder has caused major US corporations to reconsider their security protocol.

Just hours after the attack, the head of security at Corteva, a seed and pesticide supplier, called the company’s chief executive Chuck Magro to ask if he wanted additional security measures this week.

“Now, you sort of ask yourself: OK, is it too relaxed? I don’t know,” Magro told the Journal. “Every company’s going to have to look at this.”

In particular, security teams are looking at large investor meetings, typically held at hotels or other large venues, which pose a challenge since there are not many entry and exit points.

Some executives have security guards who walk a step ahead to scan for potential threats, while others are escorted to events by armed drivers.

More than a quarter of S&P 500 companies provide personal security services outside working hours, according to data from Equilar. About 13% provide security measures to executives aside from the CEO, the data said. These companies do not have to report their spending on security measures within normal business hours.

A number of companies spent millions on outside-hours security measures in 2023. Meta spent $24 million on such security protocols, mostly for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to securities filings. Blackstone spent $4.6 million and Oracle and Las Vegas Sands each spent just over $3 million on these security measures last year, according to Equilar.

UnitedHealth did not report any such costs in 2023, according to the Journal.

Many corporate boards require top executives to travel via corporate jets for business matters, and sometimes for personal use, as a safety measure. Andrew Witty, chief executive of the UnitedHealth group, is required to travel by jet for business matters and is encouraged to travel by private plane for personal travel, according to securities filings.

UnitedHealth’s executives did not use corporate jets for any personal trips last year, the filing said.