According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the amount of money corporations spend securing their executives spiked in 2024, and will continue to demonstrate significant growth when reporting for 2025 becomes public. The primary reason cited is the killing of United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson in December 2024. Not only did this tragedy shine a spotlight on the importance of implementing security measures designed to protect corporate leaders, it forced corporate boards to make the decision to elevate the level of security afforded to these executives, rather than leave the decision to the executives themselves. Although being told that you will have a security detail at your residence, be escorted around town by a driver trained in evasion techniques, and fly on a private jet may sound glamorous to some, many executives would rather not have these benefits. To cultivate their connections with the workforce, stockholders, and the general public, many executives strive to be seen as accessible and empathetic to the concerns of these groups. Receiving these conspicuous benefits, which others would never dream of having, can cut against the authenticity of the executive's messaging that “I am one of you.”
The reality of the situation is that the threat environment in which public figures operate has dramatically changed. Targeted shootings in 2025 led to the tragic deaths of state legislators in Minnesota, executives in a building on Park Avenue in New York City, a conservative activist in Utah, and embassy employees in Washington, DC. In the aftermath of these incidents, corporate boards have wisely made the decision to ramp up spending on securing their executives to not only ensure the safety of the executives and those around them, but to safeguard the future of their corporate enterprise as well.
Based on conversations that we are having and the environment more broadly, our expectation is that both the prevalence and the amount provided in terms of security benefits is likely to increase for fiscal 2025
https://www.ft.com/content/b94d0519-7a07-4504-a88a-04c027d65c21?shareType=nongift
