Major companies have been scrambling to assess whether senior employees have adequate protection after the killing of a US insurance executive in New York sparked widespread concerns about corporate security.
Security chiefs from groups on both sides of the Atlantic raced after Wednesday’s shooting to share intelligence and direct inquiries to specialist companies about how to protect senior management, industry insiders said.
The sudden emphasis on corporate security comes after Brian Thompsonthe boss of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance division, was fatally shot at dawn as he walked alone to a corporate meeting in midtown Manhattan.
New York City police on Thursday launched an extensive manhunt for a suspect in a shooting that authorities described as a “deliberate, targeted attack.” Shot casings found at the scene were signs with the words “deny,” “defend” and “reject” — in a possible allusion to a book about insurers allegedly denying claims.
The attack on a senior U.S. executive prompted dozens of security officials at major U.S. and U.K. companies to hold a call Wednesday to try to understand what risks they are exposed to and how to reduce them, said Dave Komendat, a spokesman for the former Boeing security chief and founder of a consulting firm. DSKomendat Risk Management Services.
“Can this happen to us? What are we not doing today, what could we do? These were the questions that their councils ask the chief security forces,” Komendat said.
Brian Stevens, a former senior security officer at Bank of America who now works for consultancy Teneo, added that the shooting was a “very difficult wake-up call”. . . a lot of security leaders in these organizations are paying attention to things they’ve been talking about for a while.”
Allied Universal, a large security company, received hundreds of calls from potential and existing customers after Wednesday’s incident, said Glenn Kucera, the group’s head of enhanced security services.
UnitedHealthThe blue-chip company, which provides health and insurance services to tens of millions of Americans, did not disclose its security spending in regulatory filings ahead of Wednesday’s incident.
Several people who saw Executive Director Andrew Whitty at public events last year said he had only a small security detail. However, he must use corporate jets when traveling for business reasons as a safety precaution, and is encouraged to use them when traveling for leisure. The Minnesota-based company did not respond to requests for comment on its security.
Kucera said it was not unusual for Thompson, a lower-level official than Whitty, to lack a security detail, adding that many executives “walk around New York unprotected.”
However, personal security is taken as a default by leaders of “controversial businesses” such as social media, or individuals with a large public profile “like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase,” he said.
He added: “An event like this will certainly make companies rethink what they are doing to protect their executives.”
Many large businesses have significant budgets devoted to securing senior management, according to regulatory filings.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is considered one of the biggest recipients of security spending, with the social media group shelling out more than $9 million for his personal security last year. It also allocated $14 million for additional security costs “related to the personal security of Mr. Zuckerberg and his family.” The company said the spending was in response to “specific threats.”
Pharmaceutical groups Pfizer and Moderna have increased spending on security since the pandemic, and their executives are accompanied by bodyguards at all public events, people familiar with the matter said. Last year, Pfizer spent nearly $800,000 on security services for Chief Executive Albert Burl.
In 2020, Moderna allowed personal and home security for some executives. The statement said the decision was made “in response to the increased profile of our company and our executives as we continued to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.”
The most recent regulatory filing disclosed $1.1 million in security costs for Chief Executive Stefan Bunsel, but not for other executives.
Protests against controversial global events such as the war in Gaza have often been directed at companies, another factor that has helped drive demand for security over the past year, according to Jason Toews, head of business services at UK security group Mitie.
“As a result of the incidents in Israel, we provide services to senior executives in the UK who come from those regions,” he said. “People feel vulnerable.”
One defense chief, who also came under fire during the Gaza war, said he had recently moved because his address had been compromised. The chief executive added that he wanted the business to gain a higher public profile, but that was not possible because of the risk to his greater exposure.
Last year, BlackRock more than tripled the cost of home security for Larry Fink to nearly $600,000 after the chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager became a target for anti-awakening activists. About $217,000 was also spent on his bodyguards.
But recent incidents have not attracted as much attention as the assassination of a Manhattan executive. Toews said businesses will now be asking, “What security procedures do we have in place to mitigate this threat?”
Additional reporting by Josephine Kambo and Ortenka Alai in London, Laura Pitel in Berlin and Joshua Franklin in New York
