UnitedHealthcare CEO killing puts new focus on exec safety policy

The UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive who was fatally shot in New York on Wednesday morning had no personal security detail, a circumstance that could prompt swift changes inside corporate boardrooms, especially as the global political environment grows more unstable.

Brian Thompson, 50, was shot in the back and the leg outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where the largest US insurer was hosting an investor day. Authorities said the shooting was a targeted attack. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said in a press conference that Thompson did not have a security detail and arrived at the hotel alone.

No UnitedHealth executive receives benefits specifically related to personal security or protection, according to the firm’s 2024 and 2023 proxy statements. That’s in contrast to companies like Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc., which have allocated millions of dollars a year to protect their CEOs.

Public companies must identify spending on specific perquisites like security services if it exceeds $10,000 in a given year, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Other big insurers like Humana Inc. and Cigna Group list personal security among the benefits provided to executives, but their regulatory filings don’t specify how much they spend protecting senior leaders. 

Median spending by S&P 500 companies that disclosed security perquisite spending doubled from 2021 to 2023 to nearly $100,000, according to an analysis by Equilar, an executive-compensation data provider. Over the same period, the share of companies that said they provided security for at least one of their top executives rose slightly, from 23.5% to 27.6%, Equilar found.

Some companies don’t invest in executive protection services because they feel it might actually draw unwanted attention to them, according to Glen Kucera, president of the Enhanced Protection Services unit of Allied Universal. The firm provides armed escorts, canine teams and other security services for New York’s World Trade Center, the US State Department and professional baseball teams.

“Some don’t want the hassle, some don’t want the exposure, some don’t feel it’s necessary,” Kucera said in an interview. “Some don’t feel that they’re a controversial figure. [Brian Thompson] probably felt he was safe as well. Unfortunately he wasn’t.”

The only UnitedHealth policy related to executives’ personal security is requiring Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty to use the company plane for all business travel. The company also encourages him to use it for all personal trips instead of flying commercial, though he didn’t use it for such flights in 2023, the company said in its proxy statement. Those guidelines didn’t apply to Thompson, who was CEO of the company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance unit.

The alleged shooter remained at large as of midday Wednesday, and the New York Police Department said the investigation was ongoing.

Kucera, who is based in Manhattan, said he received numerous calls on Wednesday inquiring about his firm’s services, which range from protecting corporate executives and celebrities to detecting explosives, firearms and narcotics.  

“Some felt no need for executive protection in the past and now in light of this incident, they feel they should have it,” he said.

Spending on executive perks like security has drawn attention from proxy-advisory firms. Institutional Shareholder Services has said “excessive perquisites could be an indication of more troubling, underlying pay program design features.” ISS also acknowledged, however, that “if the perceived need for increased safety endures, we believe companies will continue offering home security benefits for CEOs.”

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.