The brazen shooting death of Brian Johnson, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on a Manhattan sidewalk has sent shockwaves through corporate America and sparked fear among executives and boards of directors.
In the wake of the shocking December 2024 attack, healthcare companies, including UHC, responded by removing executive profiles and bios from their company websites. Others opted to move in-person events to the virtual realm, or even temporarily close their offices and have employees work from home.
The incident has drawn attention to the issue of how to protect high-ranking corporate officials at a time of intense political division and social media rancor — and as incidents of mass violence continue to proliferate.
According to the global security firm TorchStone, there were 462 threats recorded against corporate executives, celebrities, elected officials, and community leaders in 2024, the first full year it began publishing monthly reports. Outside of the assassination of Johnson, December 2024 saw seven other threats against corporate leaders, “by far the highest number of monthly incidents targeting business executives since we began tracking in May 2023,” the company said.
In a 2021 pandemic-era survey of 300 security and IT leaders at U.S. companies with at least 5,000 employees, 58% of respondents said their CEO had received physical threats after taking a position on a racial or political issue. A nearly identical number — 59% — said employees had received physical threats as a result of doing the same. Nearly two-thirds said their company overall was experiencing an uptick in physical threats.
Despite this, companies have been slow to embrace stronger executive protections. As The Associated Press reports:
Just over a quarter of the companies in the Fortune 500 reported spending money to protect their CEOs and top executives. Of those, the median payment for personal security doubled over the last three years to just under $100,000.
The problem is especially acute in healthcare, where frustrations over denied claims and what some see as outsize profits and CEO salaries have been building and have inspired would-be copycat attackers. Reports say “wanted” posters bearing the names and faces of other healthcare executives started appearing around Manhattan in the wake of Johnson’s killing, with other ominous threats circulating online.
Integrated Security Platforms
This tragedy puts into stark relief the growing risks facing C-suite executives and the urgent need for advanced worksite security solutions.
Beyond employing bodyguards to accompany them when traveling to offsite events — Johnson was heading to an investor conference by himself when he was gunned down — companies should evaluate the security of their physical workplaces.
As we’ve previously outlined, weapon detection systems have evolved from relying on tools such as metal detectors, hand-held wands, and video surveillance cameras to using automated technologies that can detect firearms, knives, and other weapons and identify intruders. The best systems are holistic, seamlessly integrating tools like panic buttons, access controls, alarms, and other critical technologies into a unified platform that proactively mitigates risk and helps prevent acts of violence before they occur.
Protecting Your Executives
SOS Technologies recognized this need for true integration and built SmartSOSTM, a holistic systems integration platform that connects effortlessly with existing security infrastructure, empowering organizations to proactively detect weapons and intruders, respond faster, and protect what matters most – people. And what’s more, it’s the only security system in the U.S. that directly integrates with 911 dispatch, dramatically accelerating a response from law enforcement while supplying first responders with valuable real-time information such as video streaming and integrated floor plans to help them plan an effective response.
It also employs AI-powered facial identification and weapons recognition technology that is 99.84% accurate, based on testing by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. With SmartSOS, security becomes not only smarter, but more responsive, and ultimately, more effective.
Interested in learning more about how SmartSOS can protect your executives and employees? Contact SOS Technologies to schedule a demonstration.