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A senior executive at U.S.-based UnitedHealth Group was fatally wounded ahead of an investor event in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Brian Thompson, 50, who had been chief executive of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare Group Insurance since 2021, was pronounced dead at a hospital after being shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, People said.
The New York Police Department said officers responded to a call at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday and found a 50-year-old man unconscious with a gunshot wound outside a sprawling hotel in one of New York’s busiest business and tourist districts.
The man was rushed to nearby Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the NYPD added. No arrests have yet been made in connection with the crime, the investigation is ongoing. The NYPD said the victim’s identity will not be released until his family has been notified.
UnitedHealth did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The company canceled a meeting with investors that began at 8 am. Thompson was due to speak at an event later in the day alongside other leaders, including the group’s chief executive Andrew Whitty.
Witty ended the event on Wednesday morning after reports of the incident surfaced. “I’m afraid that . . . some of you may be aware that we are dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members and as a result I am afraid we will have to close the event today,” he said.
Thompson, who has been with UnitedHealth since 2004, has held several positions in UnitedHealthcare’s insurance division, including corporate development and serving as CFO of Medicare and Pensions.
UnitedHealth, which has a market value of $566 billion, generated nearly $372 billion in revenue last year, making it the fourth-largest U.S. public company by sales. UnitedHealthcare — the largest U.S. health insurer that Thompson ran — contributed about 75 percent of the group’s revenue.
