Screenshots of a closed circuit of a person of interest in the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
Source: New York Police
Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed Wednesday while doing something countless other American CEOs do routinely: walking unaccompanied to an investor event his company is holding.
But Thompson's death this week in the heart of America's corporate capital sent shock waves throughout the business world, forcing companies to rethink the risks of even the most routine executive responsibilities.
“Everyone is scrambling to say, 'Are we safe?'” said Chuck Randolph, chief security officer at Ontic, an Austin, Texas-based threat management software provider. “This is an inflection point where the idea of executive protection is now being elevated to the board level. Everyone I know in the industry feels this.”
Threats against companies have been increasing for years, fueled in part by the social media echo chamber and a more polarized political environment, according to security professionals. But the killing of Thompson, head of the largest private health insurance company in the United States, on a Manhattan sidewalk, is the most prominent incident of its kind in decades.
The companies are now concerned that their leaders face a greater risk of becoming targets of violence, especially since they will hold more public investor events in New York in the coming weeks.
The gunman is still at large, and his motives are unknown. Words written on shell casings found at the scene may offer clues as to what incited the shooter.
One question posed by security experts not involved in the case was whether the shooter had aired grievances against UnitedHealthcare in online forums and looked for information about the investor event. Many health care companies reacted by pulling photos of their executives from websites, and health insurer Centene held a virtual investor meeting after the murder.
Thompson did not have a security detail with him Wednesday morning, despite known threats against him, according to NYPD officials. None of UnitedHealth's executives received personal security benefits, according to company filings.
The cups mark the location of shell casings found at the scene where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was reportedly shot and killed in midtown Manhattan, in New York City, United States, on December 4, 2024.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
If Thompson had done so, several key factors would have been different. Staff had gone to the hotel before his arrival to detect threats; He was also accompanied by armed security personnel who may have used an alternate entrance to the hotel, said Scott Stewart, vice president of TorchStone Global.
“This could have been prevented,” said Stewart, who said he has spent nearly four decades in the industry. “I have never seen an executive with a comprehensive security program fall victim like this.”
However, before this week's horrific events, it was not unusual for executives to back away from security because of the disruption to their lives, or the image it might give, several veteran security experts said.
“Not every CEO needs high security,” said the head of security at a technology company, who was not granted permission to speak to the press. “Senior executives are exposed to threats all day long, and you need a platform to screen them and determine if they are credible and timely,” he said.
“Guns, guards and gates”
Since Thompson's killing, a wide range of companies have sought additional protection for executives, Matthew Dempert, managing director at Kroll Enterprise Security Risk Management, told CNBC.
In the coming weeks, there are several financial conferences in New York that CEOs are scheduled to attend in person. So far, the main concern with these events has been disruption by environmental activists or other protesters, said a manager at a large bank.
“Everyone is looking at and thinking about security for their senior employees,” said an executive at a major Wall Street firm, who declined to be identified out of concern that it might attract attention.
Some corporate security veterans have stated that they are viewed as a cost center that is “too deeply buried in an organization to be heard.”
“The bias is that security is a pain for people, and it's not that important,” said the person, who requested anonymity to speak frankly.
“I hope this will open their eyes,” he added. “Risk information and assessment is important, and security is not just about guns, guards and gates.”
— CNBC's Jordan Novitt, Bertha Combs and Dan Mangan contributed to this report
