NYT: The 'Chilling' Fatal Shooting of a C.E.O. Has Business Leaders on Edge

[Dennis Donovan]

NYT - (archived: https://archive.ph/6xjoU ) The ‘Chilling’ Fatal Shooting of a C.E.O. Has Business Leaders on Edge

After Brian Thompson of UnitedHealthcare was killed in Manhattan, the phones at corporate security firms were “ringing off the hook.”



By Emma Goldberg
Dec. 6, 2024
Updated 3:38 p.m. ET

A Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company raised its drug prices, and then board members and executives received phone calls threatening violence. A health care company’s board meeting was disrupted after board members were targeted in “swatting” attacks that wrongly sent law enforcement officers to their homes.

These incidents happened before the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. The police had not offered a motive for the shooting as of Friday afternoon, or said it was related to Mr. Thompson’s work in the insurance industry.

The killing, however, stunned business leaders, some of whom were already concerned about safety. Over the last five years, there has been a sharp rise in targeted attacks, digital and offline, of executives and their families, said Chris Pierson, the chief executive of BlackCloak, a digital executive protection firm. Health care, biomedical and pharmaceutical leaders tend to be targeted more often than executives in other industries, according to the firm’s data.

Digital platforms have made it easier to obtain information about executives’ identities and locations, while social media has fanned the flames of vitriol directed at these corporate leaders.

Businesses have been increasing their spending on protection: The median amount spent on executive security among the S&P 500 companies that disclose that information doubled from 2021 to 2023, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm.

Because of how frequently threats circulate online, companies and security firms must spend time and effort sorting threats by the severity of threatened harm, the likelihood of an attack and the capacity of the individual making the threat, Mr. Pierson said.

/snip

[markpkessinger]

1. Here's the comment I posted to this article:

I don't for one minute condone the murder of anyone. But at the same time, if wealthy business executives are feeling a little nervous, maybe that's not entirely a bad thing.

Look, UnitedHealthcare, under Mr. Thompson's leadership, pursued a policy of denying claims by algorithm, the claims only reviewed by a medical professional in the event such denials were challenged or appealed. This policy resulted in needless delays in patient care in many cases, and in some cases, likely resulted in patient deaths.

I saw a quote of Mr. Thompson's wife about what a wonderful, generous person and father Mr. Thompson was. But be that as it may, he pursued policies that sometimes had real adverse consequences for the lives of real people, many of whom had no real options.

Perhaps it is time for business executives to begin to understand that when they make decisions that adversely impact the lives of real people, they are opening themselves to the possibility that some of those adversely affected individuals may decide that it's time for those business executives to face some adverse consequences of their own!

https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/43mfds?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share

[RandySF]

2. If there's a silver lining

maybe insurance execs will pause to consider the pain they've caused.

[Think. Again.]

9. .

[RandySF]

16. My therapist told me to look for good in people.

Last edited Fri Dec 6, 2024, 07:14 PM - Edit history (1)

So I had to try.

[Think. Again.]

19. I remember when companies used to ask a simple question to determine whether an applicant was mentally stable...

...the question was "Do you believe all people are basically good", the right answer was supposed to be "yes".

I'm pretty sure that little test doesn't work anymore.

[orangecrush]

20. Doubt it

Per the article, it is their own asses they are worried about.

[bdamomma]

22. Or the

pain they continue to cause on people's quality of life.

[Passages]

3. Humble people, people with a conscience, might take this moment and you know,

change.

Or, they'll beef up security and call it a day.

Or get Congress who they already pay off to pass special harassment laws just for them.

I wonder which reaction they'll take.

[Initech]

4. They should stop stealing our money.

People claim immigrants are the problem, but really it's the billionaire criminal CEO class. Nearly all of our problems the last 20 years can be attributed to them. And these greedy fucks just want more.

[Think. Again.]

8. Fixed it for ya...

" People the billionaire criminal CEO class claim immigrants are the problem, but really it's the billionaire criminal CEO class. Nearly all of our problems the last 20 years can be attributed to them. And these greedy fucks just want more."

[bdamomma]

23. Always

look up that 1%, to piss down on the Middle Class and those who are not financially stable.
Those greedy bastards just want it all, but the Meek will inherit the earth.

[sop]

5. "People shouldn't be afraid of their government.

Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

(I suppose one could substitute corporation for government.)

[Think. Again.]

7. substitute?

[meadowlander]

14. If corporations have decided to govern us, they need to get used to everything that comes with it

including public accountability for their actions.

If you're going to enrich yourself off decisions that kill tens of thousands of people and make hundreds of thousands of peoples' lives worse, you don't get the luxury of anonymity.

[Think. Again.]

6. ....

It's like the public is taking the "justice" system out of the hands of the oligarchs.

Rather than the rich, empowered, and greedy minority keeping the majority oppressed through their choices of what's 'illegal', the majority is beginning to keep the greedy minority within the majority's choices of what is ethical.

An interesting turn of events.

[Coventina]

10. .

[Meowmee]

11. If prices were controlled

And they could not “ rape” the population financially and causing grave harm doing things that should be illegal, there would be no need for this. If by some chance it was not motivated by the above it still stands.

[drmeow]

12. "The killing, however, stunned business leaders, some of whom were already concerned about safety."

Cry me a river, you predatory f**ks!

[John Farmer]

21. The killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has already become a folk hero.

Sympathy is out of network.

[SRK65802]

13. Welcome to the real world CEO's!

Peons are gunned down for no reason MANY times per day and no one gives it a second thought.

[bdamomma]

25. Welcome to

DU. Yes, the CEO's will become the hunted, instead of us.

[Yavin4]

15. They wanted a world without taxes and regulations.

Well, this is what they will get. Sure, they can spend billions on media stoking racist and xenophobic sentiments. Heck, they've just won an election doing that. However, when the reality of slashing regulations and taxes starts to hit home, when people lose their loved ones because their health claims are denied, when people have to spend more money out of their pockets to pay for their parents and their kids' education, society starts to break down. Violence becomes a reasonable solution.

They could've just paid their taxes and complied with regulations, but their greed wouldn't allow it.

[bdamomma]

26. Your last

comment is so on point.

[Midnight Writer]

17. I'm on edge because billionaires want to take my Social Security and Medicare.

I'm on edge because I had loved ones who have died because they had no insurance and no money.

I'm on edge because people around me are living in poverty and blaming it on immigrants and minorities.

I'm on edge because I know my children and grandchildren will never have the opportunities I had because narcistic billionaires are sucking all the money out of the economy.

I'm on edge because billionaires have bought the ruling Party of our government and are weaponizing it against regular folk like me and my loved ones.

I'm on edge because corporations screw me every day so that their filthy rich investors will make more money.

I'm on edge because I see the homeless in the streets, the working folk lining up at the local food bank, the young workers in despair because their full-time jobs do not cover basic living expenses.

All this in the richest nation by far in the history of the world. A rising tide does not lift all boats. The big boats swamp and sink the little boats.

I'm on edge every day because I see my country and its people being raped by powerful people who don't give a tinker's turd how much pain and suffering their greed causes for others.

[bdamomma]

27. Excuse

my expletive, Elon said we are in for "hardship" fuck him. Maybe we can turn the tide around.

Your post was so truthful.

[ecstatic]

18. I don't agree with the murder, but I think it's a moment for anyone with the power to affect

lives to reflect. You may not be a CEO but depending on your job, your decisions might impact a lot of people.

As far as my own job, my conscience is clear but it's always good to reassess from time to time and make sure I'm treating people fairly and carrying out my duties with the utmost integrity.

Being a good person doesn't eliminate the risk of being executed. High profile people need to have good security regardless, but the way we treat others, especially those who are less fortunate, matters.

[Prairie Gates]

24. That's a shame

[paleotn]

28. My heart does not bleed.

My "give a fucks" are fresh out. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

[Xipe Totec]

29. It's interesting that gun humpers aren't screaming 2nd amendment remedies this time. nt

[GoYouPackersGo]

31. Thoughts and prayers. nt

[Ollie Garkie]

32. The rest of us...

Already live in fear due to their actions so fuck 'em!